White Lantern
A really overpowered Mary Sue self insert
- Location
- Sector 2184
Mecha with chest pilots gundams? Gardes and the one from gigantia I think it's called ( are they from a series?)
Victory Through Unity! (Planetary Annihiliation Self Insert Multicross)
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
The ones you are thinking of are Gundams (franchise of the same name), Gardes (Knights of Sidonia), and Machine Calibers from Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet.
That being said, Melissa's mechs are (mostly) original designs.
White Lantern
A really overpowered Mary Sue self insert
- Location
- Sector 2184
Huh I am actually surprised you know what gardes were (maybe a future crossover?)(also thanks for the gargantia one I forgot the name off it)(and you reminded meh)
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
I thought Knights of Sidonia was in the lost.
But yeah, both Knights of Sidonia and Gartantia on the Verdurous Planet are set to be crossovers, though given my currently planned storyline, the first mecha universe I go to will be either Titanfall or Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans.
128. Those Who Grew Beyond Their Programming
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
I stared at the four teenage humans in front of me. Two boys, two girls, each with unique appearances. One of the girls wore a blue-green, US navy style uniform, though she also had some simple robes mixed into the uniform, which, surprisingly, were tie-dyed. The other girl wore yellow and grey clothing, and had some cybernetics visible on her head. As for the boys, one was dressed in red and brown clothing, with a brown trench-coat for added warmth, as least that was what I assumed. Also, could they get any edgier in appearance? As for the last figure in the room, they were wearing an attire not to dissimilar from the Cybernetic girl, but he was also wearing a bomber jacket, which I found resembling the one vulture wore in Spider-Man: Homecoming (note to self: watch that film). All of them shared one thing, though - they were scared. Specifically, the red-dressed boy and Cybernetic girl were, based on examinations of their heart rate, perspiration, and how their legs were moving, approximately five minutes from bladder and bowel failure, respectively, unless they calmed down, while the color seemed to have drained from the other two's faces.
It was not hard to see why. See, according to my records, these four people did not exist. They hadn't emigrated from the Beyond Earth Universe, I hadn't ordered their creation in the same way I had ordered the creation of Synais, Fide, and Kathikon, and they certainly had not been born in the time since people had moved into my hub universe.
Additionally, according to my records, the units designated Hydra-01, CNDR-101, Seraph-89, and Dragoon-17 were, respectively, a Hydra class carrier, a CNDR war robot, a Seraph tac-jet, and a Dragoon hovertank. Despite this, my IFF was registering these people as being those machines, with the order I described them in corresponding to which machine they were.
A quick analysis of my data-logs concerning the past few months revealed that, following networking with a node on Chiron, Hydra-01 had begun to exhibit deviances from normal operations, including creative interpretation of orders and occasional insubordination. After I had interfaced with her to address her unwillingness to return her charges to their home within a certain time-frame, these aberrances had only become more commonplace. As for the rest, they had also shown sings of disregarding my orders (or at least interpreting them creatively), but only after I had interfaced directly with them, and the deviances had taken far longer to show up in CNDR-101 than they had in the others. Apparently, that had led them to obtain physical bodies, as records of the usage of my Ectogenesis Pods had proven, which led to where we were now. I made a note to address Ouium after I was done with this - he had withheld import information from me, and I was not pleased with htat.
As I returned my focus from my thoughts to my units-turned-humans, they all seemed to go stiff. Why exactly was that - wait, I'm psychic and connected to them by the Commander net, I can just read their thoughts to answer that question.
........they're scared that I'll dismantle them, put them in a lab, and run tests on them to see why they became self aware, and that, if they live, I'll lock them away in a dark room, never to see the light of day again? Really? They think I would do that, just because they became self aware and used some of my machines without asking?
Well, they weren't exactly wrong........aaaaaannnnnnndddddd now I feel terrible. Yes, I did want to run some tests on them to figure out why they became self aware, but I wasn't going to dismantle them. If they were smart enough to both create and desire human bodies and, from what I had gathered based on 01's reactions with her charges, have friendships with other people, then I could consider them human, and that meant that they were entitled to basic human rights.
And now I am getting distracted. Time to have a conversation with my units.
"So," I began.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" shouted Hydra-01, voice breaking for a moment.
".......what?"
"We're sorry we used your pods to grow us bodies without your position, it's just -"
"Calm down, I won't hurt you. I. Promise."
"......You won't?" questioned the other girl, CNDR-101.
"No. Though I am not happy that you used the Ectogenesis pods without my permission, I am not going to kill you, or cut you up, or lock you in a dark room until you expire. As for tests that could tell me why you all became self-aware......I can do that without bringing any physical, mental, or emotional pain on you."
".......really?" questioned Dragoon-17.
"Really. Though, there is one question I have to ask you."
"And that is ?" inquired Seraph-89.
"Why did you all want to grow human bodies for yourselves. Your own normal bodies are far tougher and longer lasting than human ones."
"Well," began Hydra-01 ," I was the first one to grow one, and I guess that was because of all the refugees we took in after that battle of Mega-Primus."
"......What?" Now it was my turn to be surprised.
"You know that I had two people onboard me, and I am still sorry for keeping them for too long."
"Yes, and you are forigiven."
"YAY!!!-Sorry, just feeling happy."
"I understand."
"Anyway, when I kept them onboard my ship-body, I wanted to make them more comfortable, so I added in several amenities for them. Once they left, though, I didn't want those to go to waste, so I made an organic body of my own so that I could enjoy them.....do you want me to get rid of them?"
"....No. Though, why did the rest of you get organic bodies?"
"...........IT sounded interesting?" offered CNDR-01. "Plus they have lots of senses we robots don't have?"
".....Okay."
".........You aren't mad at us?" questioned Dragoon-17.
"Nom I am mad, but I honestly don't think you deserve punishment in this particular instance. If you do anyting to betray my trust in the future, though, I may not be so lenient."
".......Understood, sir."
"Good. Now, if there is nothing else you want to talk about-"
"Wait!" This time it was Seraph-89 who was speaking.
"Yes?"
"Is it okay if we can....well.......name ourselves?"
"......I don't see why not. What do you want to call yourselves?"
"Lernaea," was Hydra-01's response.
"Hearth." That was CNDR-101.
"Sigurd," replied Dragoon-17.
"Jegudiel." Process of elimination meant that was Seraph-89.
"Okay then, those will be your names. Did you think of any last names?"
"..........................."
"I guess not. Just send me a message when you think of them, and I'll mess with the records and censuses so that you can be accounted for. Have a nice day."
"THANK YOU SIR!"
XXXXXXXXX
Well, that went better than expected. Now back to dealing with Melissa and her forces.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Sorry for poor quality, dialogue is not my strong suite.
So, please read and review. I really want reviews here, because I would like some advice for turning my facsimiles of dialogue into actual conversations.
This is Flameal15k, signing off!
It was not hard to see why. See, according to my records, these four people did not exist. They hadn't emigrated from the Beyond Earth Universe, I hadn't ordered their creation in the same way I had ordered the creation of Synais, Fide, and Kathikon, and they certainly had not been born in the time since people had moved into my hub universe.
Additionally, according to my records, the units designated Hydra-01, CNDR-101, Seraph-89, and Dragoon-17 were, respectively, a Hydra class carrier, a CNDR war robot, a Seraph tac-jet, and a Dragoon hovertank. Despite this, my IFF was registering these people as being those machines, with the order I described them in corresponding to which machine they were.
A quick analysis of my data-logs concerning the past few months revealed that, following networking with a node on Chiron, Hydra-01 had begun to exhibit deviances from normal operations, including creative interpretation of orders and occasional insubordination. After I had interfaced with her to address her unwillingness to return her charges to their home within a certain time-frame, these aberrances had only become more commonplace. As for the rest, they had also shown sings of disregarding my orders (or at least interpreting them creatively), but only after I had interfaced directly with them, and the deviances had taken far longer to show up in CNDR-101 than they had in the others. Apparently, that had led them to obtain physical bodies, as records of the usage of my Ectogenesis Pods had proven, which led to where we were now. I made a note to address Ouium after I was done with this - he had withheld import information from me, and I was not pleased with htat.
As I returned my focus from my thoughts to my units-turned-humans, they all seemed to go stiff. Why exactly was that - wait, I'm psychic and connected to them by the Commander net, I can just read their thoughts to answer that question.
........they're scared that I'll dismantle them, put them in a lab, and run tests on them to see why they became self aware, and that, if they live, I'll lock them away in a dark room, never to see the light of day again? Really? They think I would do that, just because they became self aware and used some of my machines without asking?
Well, they weren't exactly wrong........aaaaaannnnnnndddddd now I feel terrible. Yes, I did want to run some tests on them to figure out why they became self aware, but I wasn't going to dismantle them. If they were smart enough to both create and desire human bodies and, from what I had gathered based on 01's reactions with her charges, have friendships with other people, then I could consider them human, and that meant that they were entitled to basic human rights.
And now I am getting distracted. Time to have a conversation with my units.
"So," I began.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" shouted Hydra-01, voice breaking for a moment.
".......what?"
"We're sorry we used your pods to grow us bodies without your position, it's just -"
"Calm down, I won't hurt you. I. Promise."
"......You won't?" questioned the other girl, CNDR-101.
"No. Though I am not happy that you used the Ectogenesis pods without my permission, I am not going to kill you, or cut you up, or lock you in a dark room until you expire. As for tests that could tell me why you all became self-aware......I can do that without bringing any physical, mental, or emotional pain on you."
".......really?" questioned Dragoon-17.
"Really. Though, there is one question I have to ask you."
"And that is ?" inquired Seraph-89.
"Why did you all want to grow human bodies for yourselves. Your own normal bodies are far tougher and longer lasting than human ones."
"Well," began Hydra-01 ," I was the first one to grow one, and I guess that was because of all the refugees we took in after that battle of Mega-Primus."
"......What?" Now it was my turn to be surprised.
"You know that I had two people onboard me, and I am still sorry for keeping them for too long."
"Yes, and you are forigiven."
"YAY!!!-Sorry, just feeling happy."
"I understand."
"Anyway, when I kept them onboard my ship-body, I wanted to make them more comfortable, so I added in several amenities for them. Once they left, though, I didn't want those to go to waste, so I made an organic body of my own so that I could enjoy them.....do you want me to get rid of them?"
"....No. Though, why did the rest of you get organic bodies?"
"...........IT sounded interesting?" offered CNDR-01. "Plus they have lots of senses we robots don't have?"
".....Okay."
".........You aren't mad at us?" questioned Dragoon-17.
"Nom I am mad, but I honestly don't think you deserve punishment in this particular instance. If you do anyting to betray my trust in the future, though, I may not be so lenient."
".......Understood, sir."
"Good. Now, if there is nothing else you want to talk about-"
"Wait!" This time it was Seraph-89 who was speaking.
"Yes?"
"Is it okay if we can....well.......name ourselves?"
"......I don't see why not. What do you want to call yourselves?"
"Lernaea," was Hydra-01's response.
"Hearth." That was CNDR-101.
"Sigurd," replied Dragoon-17.
"Jegudiel." Process of elimination meant that was Seraph-89.
"Okay then, those will be your names. Did you think of any last names?"
"..........................."
"I guess not. Just send me a message when you think of them, and I'll mess with the records and censuses so that you can be accounted for. Have a nice day."
"THANK YOU SIR!"
XXXXXXXXX
Well, that went better than expected. Now back to dealing with Melissa and her forces.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Sorry for poor quality, dialogue is not my strong suite.
So, please read and review. I really want reviews here, because I would like some advice for turning my facsimiles of dialogue into actual conversations.
This is Flameal15k, signing off!
Ryven Razgriz
I need a Gun and I'll let you know 'What's up?'.
- Location
- South East Asia
I thought there'd be more tension between them. One of them just went 'U not mad? Yay!' happy go lucky, I feel that they're too bland, but then again, it may just be me.
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
Will modify that tomorrow.
Again, dialogue and conversations are not my strong suites, so every bit of feedback you give is appreciated.
Ryven Razgriz
I need a Gun and I'll let you know 'What's up?'.
- Location
- South East Asia
Well, just a suggestion but mayhaps you could read some other fics or search up a few articles on tensions regarding usage/permission violations or stuff.
I think there'd be a lot of them all over the internet especially among the military.
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
I'll look into that.
I guess part of why Flame just forgave them so easily is that I fundamentally have issues staying angry at peole for just about llama thing, and since Flame is a self-insert if me, it transferred over. I also hold my family in VERY HIGH ESTEEM, which is why Melissa is exempt from my easy forgiveness.
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
I think the Commander is glossing over the "became self-aware" part a bit too easily, however that could easily be fixed with a "think about it later" line and some elaboration in the testing phase. Recalling the tank personification and her actions saving him without orders, and doing so intelligently should make him consider subcommander responsibly as an option. Trustworthy subordinates with initiative are the best kind after all. Have any of her shown actually troublesome tendencies?
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
No, and I will mention it next chapter.
If Flame acts a little odd for the next few chapters and ignor s important facts, it's mostly after affects of having his code messed with via the artifacts.
129. War Games
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
With my now human subordinates dealt with, I decided to turn my attention back toward figuring out what to do from here. Or, at least, I tried. Despite my best efforts, I still wasn't entirely sure what to do with my subordinates. Additionally, I was unsure as to why they had chosen human bodies for their avatars. While I had chosen one out of a desire to regain some senses I had lost, and partially because I liked having a fleshy body, I had no idea why they would want one - they could easily generate one that was far tougher than a normal human, and could also make one that trumped up one that was heavily gene-modded and given lots of E-DNA splicing. My technology was advanced enough that they could also use synthesize all five senses to a degree that would be indistinguishable from normal humans, and probably exceed us in several areas as well. So why go human - wait, why is this file about S.H.I.V.s being pulled up?
....okay, so Sigurd had been reading it, but that didn't explain why it was impor - now parts of the file are being highlighted? What are those?
Well, I might as well read them.
'While we have been able to design SHIVs that can fly, acting cover for our troops, and, in general, assist our forces in the field, we have unfortunately not been able to address their weakness to psionics. Although they can not being mind controlled or confused, psionic powers that directly damage their targets have.....catastrophic affects on our machines. A possible reason for this may be that innate psychic powers present in all humans allows them to fend off these attacks, while machines lack this ability. We will continue our efforts to develop and find a way to eliminate this shortcoming, but I am unsure we will be able to do so.' - XCOM archives.
.....Ok, that might explain some things. My forces might have wanted some protection against psionic foes. That was....actually very long-sighted of them. Good job, my creations.
...........Now that I thought about it, my creations were surprisingly creative and far-thinking once they became sapient. Additionally, some of them (Sigurd, to use an obvious example), had also displayed a surprising amount of initiative. All of these were valuable traits for people given positions of command. Perhaps I could 'promote' them? While I was unwilling to give them access to a commander chasis, I did have the schematics for the Colonel Sub-commander, and it wouldn't be too hard to upload my subordinates personalities into said chasis. Perhaps it was time for me to start creating a chain of command?
.......Well, maybe not just yet. I did make a note to consider it, though - it would probably be beneficial to do so for the future.
Now, what else to do-and Tylos just sent a request for me to talk to him.
Well, I better answer it.
XXXXXXXXXX
[INITIATING COMMUNICATION]
[PARTICIPANTS: CMDR FLAMEAL15k AND TYL0S]
T: Greetings, Great One.
F: Greetings. What do you wish to discuss.
T: It is in regards to our....temporary.....friends.
F: Okay, what of it?
T: Well, while we are working with them, should we not attempt to foster better relations with them? It is prudent to show our allies that we support them.
F:.....Um, well................
T: You seem uncomfortable about assisting our newfound ally. Why?
F:........You know how I said that I had my powers taken from me by another being higher than me?
T:Yes, I remember it well.
F: The leader of the Illuminate - she's the one who took them.
T: I see. In that case, I would still encourage you to open up trade with her forces.
F:...WHAT?
T: Also, my compatriots suggest that you attempt to convince her to allow war games between our forces and her own, and I agree whole-heartedly with them.
F: Why?!
T: She's not openly antagonistic with you, so it would be best to try and foster friendship with her, if only to keep her from attempting to exploit you further. More importantly, if she does attempt to take action against you once more in the future, she would likely use her own forces to oppose ours. Therefore, we should take any opportunity we can to learn about her strategies and tactics, lest we be caught unawares when she chooses to strike.
F....You make several very good points. Very well, I will broach the subject with the Sovereign of the Illuminate. I cannot guarantee she will agree, though.
T: That is all we ask.
F: Understood. Farewell.
[COMMUNICATION TERMINATED]
XXXXXXX
The minute my conversation with Tylos was over, I sighed. While I was willing to broach the topic to Melissa, there was no way she would say yes to it.....
XXXXX
"I'm fine with that."
.....or maybe not.
".....Seriously? You're okay with that?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, what exactly is there that I can give you through trading that you cannot make for yourself?"
"A lot of things. Art, food, entertainment, the like."
".....point taken."
"And as for the war games.......my subordinates were asking me to propose having them with you."
"....what?"
"My creations are growing bored. They may fight for me, but I do not wish for the people who serve me to die in my name, so I use organic monstrosities to fight my battles for me, such as the 'slime demon', as you've taken to calling it. They are alive, yes, but they are merely animals, unable to make great works. The fight and die so that others may live."
"Petroglyph might call copyright issues with that.
"Ha. Ha. In all seriousness, though, the intelligent beings I created do actually desire to assist me in my battles, and are growing tired of being kept on the sidelines. They are yearning to be turned loose. I believe a little bit of conflict with you will satisfy them, at least for now."
"I see. So you have a military force of your creations? What do you use them for, if not battle?"
"Policing the lands I conquer - they provide a face of sorts for my actions, and most are approachable enough to help make my conquests feel less oppressive.
Actually, why don't you ever use your creations as police units? All the Spore races you created still possess intact militaries that you could utilize for that purpose, and it would make you seem more....human, if you wish to use the word."
......That could actually work. And it would make me appear less oppressive.
".....I never really thought about it. Too interested in keeping my subordinates safe."
"I can understand. So, anything else you desire?"
"No. I guess I'm done."
"Then please, be off."
XXXXXXXXXXX
Yeah, that went easier than expected.
Was this, perhaps, the beginning of a long and prosperous partnership?
......like I'm telling that to you guys right now. HA HA!
XXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
....okay, so Sigurd had been reading it, but that didn't explain why it was impor - now parts of the file are being highlighted? What are those?
Well, I might as well read them.
'While we have been able to design SHIVs that can fly, acting cover for our troops, and, in general, assist our forces in the field, we have unfortunately not been able to address their weakness to psionics. Although they can not being mind controlled or confused, psionic powers that directly damage their targets have.....catastrophic affects on our machines. A possible reason for this may be that innate psychic powers present in all humans allows them to fend off these attacks, while machines lack this ability. We will continue our efforts to develop and find a way to eliminate this shortcoming, but I am unsure we will be able to do so.' - XCOM archives.
.....Ok, that might explain some things. My forces might have wanted some protection against psionic foes. That was....actually very long-sighted of them. Good job, my creations.
...........Now that I thought about it, my creations were surprisingly creative and far-thinking once they became sapient. Additionally, some of them (Sigurd, to use an obvious example), had also displayed a surprising amount of initiative. All of these were valuable traits for people given positions of command. Perhaps I could 'promote' them? While I was unwilling to give them access to a commander chasis, I did have the schematics for the Colonel Sub-commander, and it wouldn't be too hard to upload my subordinates personalities into said chasis. Perhaps it was time for me to start creating a chain of command?
.......Well, maybe not just yet. I did make a note to consider it, though - it would probably be beneficial to do so for the future.
Now, what else to do-and Tylos just sent a request for me to talk to him.
Well, I better answer it.
XXXXXXXXXX
[INITIATING COMMUNICATION]
[PARTICIPANTS: CMDR FLAMEAL15k AND TYL0S]
T: Greetings, Great One.
F: Greetings. What do you wish to discuss.
T: It is in regards to our....temporary.....friends.
F: Okay, what of it?
T: Well, while we are working with them, should we not attempt to foster better relations with them? It is prudent to show our allies that we support them.
F:.....Um, well................
T: You seem uncomfortable about assisting our newfound ally. Why?
F:........You know how I said that I had my powers taken from me by another being higher than me?
T:Yes, I remember it well.
F: The leader of the Illuminate - she's the one who took them.
T: I see. In that case, I would still encourage you to open up trade with her forces.
F:...WHAT?
T: Also, my compatriots suggest that you attempt to convince her to allow war games between our forces and her own, and I agree whole-heartedly with them.
F: Why?!
T: She's not openly antagonistic with you, so it would be best to try and foster friendship with her, if only to keep her from attempting to exploit you further. More importantly, if she does attempt to take action against you once more in the future, she would likely use her own forces to oppose ours. Therefore, we should take any opportunity we can to learn about her strategies and tactics, lest we be caught unawares when she chooses to strike.
F....You make several very good points. Very well, I will broach the subject with the Sovereign of the Illuminate. I cannot guarantee she will agree, though.
T: That is all we ask.
F: Understood. Farewell.
[COMMUNICATION TERMINATED]
XXXXXXX
The minute my conversation with Tylos was over, I sighed. While I was willing to broach the topic to Melissa, there was no way she would say yes to it.....
XXXXX
"I'm fine with that."
.....or maybe not.
".....Seriously? You're okay with that?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, what exactly is there that I can give you through trading that you cannot make for yourself?"
"A lot of things. Art, food, entertainment, the like."
".....point taken."
"And as for the war games.......my subordinates were asking me to propose having them with you."
"....what?"
"My creations are growing bored. They may fight for me, but I do not wish for the people who serve me to die in my name, so I use organic monstrosities to fight my battles for me, such as the 'slime demon', as you've taken to calling it. They are alive, yes, but they are merely animals, unable to make great works. The fight and die so that others may live."
"Petroglyph might call copyright issues with that.
"Ha. Ha. In all seriousness, though, the intelligent beings I created do actually desire to assist me in my battles, and are growing tired of being kept on the sidelines. They are yearning to be turned loose. I believe a little bit of conflict with you will satisfy them, at least for now."
"I see. So you have a military force of your creations? What do you use them for, if not battle?"
"Policing the lands I conquer - they provide a face of sorts for my actions, and most are approachable enough to help make my conquests feel less oppressive.
Actually, why don't you ever use your creations as police units? All the Spore races you created still possess intact militaries that you could utilize for that purpose, and it would make you seem more....human, if you wish to use the word."
......That could actually work. And it would make me appear less oppressive.
".....I never really thought about it. Too interested in keeping my subordinates safe."
"I can understand. So, anything else you desire?"
"No. I guess I'm done."
"Then please, be off."
XXXXXXXXXXX
Yeah, that went easier than expected.
Was this, perhaps, the beginning of a long and prosperous partnership?
......like I'm telling that to you guys right now. HA HA!
XXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
130. Observations and Modifications
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
I watched as the two armies began to clash - on one side, Melissa's, on another, my own.
While mostly composed of machines, I had decided to take Melissa's advice and allow my organic creations (that is, my spore creatures) to participate in the battle. While I only intended to use them as a policing force, having some experience under their belt would be preferable, so I had made sure they would take part in these war games. It'd been surprisingly easy to form up my creations into battalions because, as Melissa had previously stated, they had their own militaries that had, due to their alliance to find me, already taken the time to become familiar with each other, which made unit cohesion surprisingly high.
Still, in this mock battle, I could pick put a few mistakes - among others, my forces were sending out their armor ahead of their infantry support, apparently because they were eager to get glory for themselves. It seemed some things never changed, regardless of species. While Hollywood would tell you that this was an effective tactic, in the real world, sending armor ahead of their support was a good way to get them surrounded and overwhelmed by infantry, who could potentially kill the armor crews and still your vehicles for themselves. Of course, first they'd need to train with those vehicles before they could use them, but the point still stands.
At the same time, my opponents had also made a rookie mistake - their right flank was poorly defended, allowing my army to slam through it, and hard. The left flank appeared to be weak, but based on the force composition around it, this was intentional - it would bait in a green army who would charge in for an easy kill, only to find themselves rapidly encircled. It would have worked, too, if it weren't for the fact that my over aggressive armored forces were the ones who had taken the bait, and smashed right through that weak spot.
In terms of how a battle should be fought, this was......well, not the worst. It was actually better than I had expected. Rookie mistakes were few, forces on both sides were using proper formations, and those that retreated did so without turning into a route. If this was how my fleshy army was going to start, well, I could deal with that.
"Enjoying the battle?'
I turned my attention away from the mock battle to answer the question. To prepare for the battle, Melissa had arranged a space station be placed over the world the war games would commence at, giving both of us a grand view of the battle. She'd insisted on making lunch, and I had insisted back that I would bring some of my own dishes. This wasn't out of paranoia, for I doubted she would poison me, but rather, I wanted to make sure our lunch was GOOD. Plus, she'd been really kind to me so far, so this was a form of repayment.
"Indeed, I am. Though I will admit, your people are making more mistakes than I thought they would."
"You thought they would be more experienced?"
"You made it sound like they had some experience, yet my forces have none."
"Well, mine are also green. My master normally precludes me from acting in any universe I visit, at least on the grand scale, so my forces have yet to taste a real battle. This is their first fight."
"Then they are doing well, all things considered."
"So are yours."
"Thanks."
Turning my attention back to the battle, I pulled up four particular points of interest. Here, my four self aware units were fighting against Melissa's forces, each striving to take victory. One thing was different this time, though, compared to all of their previous engagements: here, they were not just fighting, but leading. I had told them wanted to see them leading because i wanted to promote them, which wan't a Lie at all. I had merely neglected to inform them of what they would be promoted to. They assumed they would get some kind of officer rank equivalent, which would be a ceremonial thing, not realizing I actually intended to make them sub-Commanders if they did well.
So far, they were proving to be skilled leaders.
While the battle for the planet raged below, I also diverted a portion of my attention to improving my flagship, the Extinction. Though already impressive, there was still much I could do to improve it. First off, modify its missile banks to be able to fire torpedoes. The ship itself was capable of going from space to underwater and back without any problems, so I saw no reason not to make it equipped to fight in both areas. I also outfitted it with the best sensors I could use, so that it would be able to find whatever I wanted. Add in some better armor, shielding, and point defenses, and the outside of the ship was good.
Now for the inside.
So far, the ship had decent crew quarters, an aquaponifer, and a few internal factories aboard, plus the reactors to power all of that and some resource synthesizers. All good, but I could certainly do better. I did, after all, have the technology to make the interior larger than a planet.
First off, more synthesizers for resource production and reactors to power them. A Beutally Efficient Serl Replicating Mechanism of War should always have a flagship that can satisfy its material needs, especially when it has just arrived in a new universe. Naturally, the things that followed for this was a set of storage facilities to hold those resources for when they were actually needed. Then came adding factories to build things with those resources and, finally, an acquisition I'd made from XCOM: warehouses to store finished products until they were needed.
Now onto the stuff for my (currently nonexistent) crew.
First off, better farms, plus kelp farms. I can build as bing as a planet in here, might as well exploit that, plus I could always use my E-DNA tech to mess with Space and make some cool skylines. I could already simulate a star's light with the technology I had, and could easily recuperate the energy expended using advanced solar collectors which, thanks to some careful examinations of the native life of Chiron, specifically plankton, could generate power using moonlight. Take that, modern solar companies!
Back on topic. With my food supplies dealt with, along with oxygen and power, time to make housing. Military barracks were added alongside luxury apartments and more modest accommodations, all meant for either my protectorates or guests. I also secretly made two super apartments that put most mansions to shame aboard my ship. One was for myself, the author was for Melissa - I did not want to make her angry. Finally, I added in a bunch of comfort stuff (movie theaters, an amusement park, a water park or five, a zoo, and so on) and called it a day. There, ship perfected.
And only half an hour had passed in real time, with the battle below us stil raging on.
Commanders are fast, okay?
XXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review, this is Flameal15k, signing off!
While mostly composed of machines, I had decided to take Melissa's advice and allow my organic creations (that is, my spore creatures) to participate in the battle. While I only intended to use them as a policing force, having some experience under their belt would be preferable, so I had made sure they would take part in these war games. It'd been surprisingly easy to form up my creations into battalions because, as Melissa had previously stated, they had their own militaries that had, due to their alliance to find me, already taken the time to become familiar with each other, which made unit cohesion surprisingly high.
Still, in this mock battle, I could pick put a few mistakes - among others, my forces were sending out their armor ahead of their infantry support, apparently because they were eager to get glory for themselves. It seemed some things never changed, regardless of species. While Hollywood would tell you that this was an effective tactic, in the real world, sending armor ahead of their support was a good way to get them surrounded and overwhelmed by infantry, who could potentially kill the armor crews and still your vehicles for themselves. Of course, first they'd need to train with those vehicles before they could use them, but the point still stands.
At the same time, my opponents had also made a rookie mistake - their right flank was poorly defended, allowing my army to slam through it, and hard. The left flank appeared to be weak, but based on the force composition around it, this was intentional - it would bait in a green army who would charge in for an easy kill, only to find themselves rapidly encircled. It would have worked, too, if it weren't for the fact that my over aggressive armored forces were the ones who had taken the bait, and smashed right through that weak spot.
In terms of how a battle should be fought, this was......well, not the worst. It was actually better than I had expected. Rookie mistakes were few, forces on both sides were using proper formations, and those that retreated did so without turning into a route. If this was how my fleshy army was going to start, well, I could deal with that.
"Enjoying the battle?'
I turned my attention away from the mock battle to answer the question. To prepare for the battle, Melissa had arranged a space station be placed over the world the war games would commence at, giving both of us a grand view of the battle. She'd insisted on making lunch, and I had insisted back that I would bring some of my own dishes. This wasn't out of paranoia, for I doubted she would poison me, but rather, I wanted to make sure our lunch was GOOD. Plus, she'd been really kind to me so far, so this was a form of repayment.
"Indeed, I am. Though I will admit, your people are making more mistakes than I thought they would."
"You thought they would be more experienced?"
"You made it sound like they had some experience, yet my forces have none."
"Well, mine are also green. My master normally precludes me from acting in any universe I visit, at least on the grand scale, so my forces have yet to taste a real battle. This is their first fight."
"Then they are doing well, all things considered."
"So are yours."
"Thanks."
Turning my attention back to the battle, I pulled up four particular points of interest. Here, my four self aware units were fighting against Melissa's forces, each striving to take victory. One thing was different this time, though, compared to all of their previous engagements: here, they were not just fighting, but leading. I had told them wanted to see them leading because i wanted to promote them, which wan't a Lie at all. I had merely neglected to inform them of what they would be promoted to. They assumed they would get some kind of officer rank equivalent, which would be a ceremonial thing, not realizing I actually intended to make them sub-Commanders if they did well.
So far, they were proving to be skilled leaders.
While the battle for the planet raged below, I also diverted a portion of my attention to improving my flagship, the Extinction. Though already impressive, there was still much I could do to improve it. First off, modify its missile banks to be able to fire torpedoes. The ship itself was capable of going from space to underwater and back without any problems, so I saw no reason not to make it equipped to fight in both areas. I also outfitted it with the best sensors I could use, so that it would be able to find whatever I wanted. Add in some better armor, shielding, and point defenses, and the outside of the ship was good.
Now for the inside.
So far, the ship had decent crew quarters, an aquaponifer, and a few internal factories aboard, plus the reactors to power all of that and some resource synthesizers. All good, but I could certainly do better. I did, after all, have the technology to make the interior larger than a planet.
First off, more synthesizers for resource production and reactors to power them. A Beutally Efficient Serl Replicating Mechanism of War should always have a flagship that can satisfy its material needs, especially when it has just arrived in a new universe. Naturally, the things that followed for this was a set of storage facilities to hold those resources for when they were actually needed. Then came adding factories to build things with those resources and, finally, an acquisition I'd made from XCOM: warehouses to store finished products until they were needed.
Now onto the stuff for my (currently nonexistent) crew.
First off, better farms, plus kelp farms. I can build as bing as a planet in here, might as well exploit that, plus I could always use my E-DNA tech to mess with Space and make some cool skylines. I could already simulate a star's light with the technology I had, and could easily recuperate the energy expended using advanced solar collectors which, thanks to some careful examinations of the native life of Chiron, specifically plankton, could generate power using moonlight. Take that, modern solar companies!
Back on topic. With my food supplies dealt with, along with oxygen and power, time to make housing. Military barracks were added alongside luxury apartments and more modest accommodations, all meant for either my protectorates or guests. I also secretly made two super apartments that put most mansions to shame aboard my ship. One was for myself, the author was for Melissa - I did not want to make her angry. Finally, I added in a bunch of comfort stuff (movie theaters, an amusement park, a water park or five, a zoo, and so on) and called it a day. There, ship perfected.
And only half an hour had passed in real time, with the battle below us stil raging on.
Commanders are fast, okay?
XXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review, this is Flameal15k, signing off!
Interlude: War Games
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
Hiding behind a rock, Hearth fired her weapon, downing another of her opponents. An artillery strike took out five more, giving her some reprieve from the firefight.
A quick examination of her downed foe confirmed he was still alive, just unconscious. No one was expected to die here, as this was merely a (very advanced) training exercise. Only non-lethal weapons were being used - which amounted to dart guns loaded with tranquilizers, electron rifles, and artillery shells modified to fire either low-end electric charges or knockout gas. The commander had also rigged up torpedo variations to knock out his foes, something they would not hesitate to exploit. They'd even made flak shells that fired knockout gas and EMP shells, though since the plains were mostly doing a simulated battle, those weapons weren't important.
That wasn't to say the fighting was dull, oh no. This battle was just as real as any other.
A flicker of movement alerted Hearth to the arrival of reinforcements in the form of a group of strange rodent creatures that were using cloaking devices. They used their camouflage systems to sneak around the enemy and attack them from behind, with Hearth taking the opportunity to lead a counter charge, forcing the enemy back.
Suddenly, an explosion formed right next her, sending Hearth flying. Turning toward it, she found herself staring at an enemy armored unit, which was busy picking off her allies. It's weapon of choice appeared to be a tank shell that fired rapidly hardening paint, of all things, which trapped all who were caught in the blast field. Cursing her luck, Hearth hastily pulled out an antitank stun grenade and threw it, only for her target to move out of the way. The throw was not for naught, though - it manage to disable an APC that had been hiding behind the tank.
Unfortunately, this alerted the tank to her position, and it quickly turned to engage her. Luck was on her side, though, and a moment later, a large splatter of paint covered the tank, which promptly went inert. Her savior soon revealed itself as a Dragoon class tank, and not just anyone - it was Sigurd.
"Thanks for the save."
"You're welcome. So, what is the situation?"
"We've been trying to slam into their left flank - it's pretty weak, and if we can make them break, well be able to force their army into a pincer and might be able to route them. Unfortunately, it looks like they have air and artillery support. I've got teams ready to deal with the artillery, but they need armor cover. Just know that your forces are a distraction - we're using shovels to get into the artillery nests."
"Where are they headed?"
"Artillery guns are to the East."
"In those hills?"
"Yes."
"Then get ready to push. Battlegroups five and eight, break off from the main attack - we've got teams trying to kill some illuminate artillery, but they need help. You're going to cover them while they charge. Any mortars, missile rovers, and grenadiers you have are to load smoke shells - make sure we use the ones that also screw with sensors."
"Understood, Dragoon-17, Designation Sigurd. Who will give us the mark?"
"I will," replied Hearth.
While the battle raged on, the teams moved into position to strike.
"On my mark........MARK!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Two kilometers to the East, the attack began.
Tanks and artillery provided covering fire as infantry readied to charge. The armor unleashed a hail of fire that would incapacitate anything in their path, while their fire support cquickly covered the area in smoke, leaving the enemy blind. Not to be outdone, the Illuminate ffire their own barrage of artillery at the smoke, intending to make the advance as costly as possible.
Unfortunately, they weren't going to get anyone that way.
Within spitting distance of the guns, the Earth exploded outwards as a drilling machine emerged from the ground, deploying a squad of infantry that swiftly incapacitated the enemy forces unlucky enough to be at ground zero. Once those were down, the soldiers and robots turned their attention toward the enemy artillery, and in a matter of minutes, the guns, rockets, and other assorted indirect fire weapons were knocked out of the fight. A flare was fired into the air, signifying the group's success.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
(Progenitor Communication Network)
Hearth: my boys and girls accomplished their mission, we can consider the guns dead.
Sigurd: Good, but as long as the enemy has air control, we're still in for a tough fight.
Jegudiel: Working on dealing with that now - already organized a group to take out the air fields the bandits are coming from. I could use someone to draw off an anti-air they got, though - less danger we have, going in, the better.
Hearth: I've got a few platoons of bots and troops nearby the target, they'll get the AA offline. Also, Lernea, how are we doing at sea?
Lernea: Good so far, but this isn't a walk in the park - enemy forces have been harrying us with torpedo bombers.
Jeg: Need me to shoot 'em down?
Lernea: Negative, I'm okay. Though this is a little overwhelming.
Sigurd: How so?
Lernea: This is the first time I've actually been given command, and while I have examined all available tactical and strategic training information available from both the Progenitor archives and the various universes we have visited, they aren't the best preparation for, well, the real deal.
Hearth: This is the first time any of us have been given command. You are not alone. Do not get discouraged.
Lernea: Thank you. NOW LET'S WIN THIS!
Sigurd, Jegudiel, Hearth: YEAAAH!
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Unnoticed by the advancing Illuminate forces, another excavator machines emerged from the ground, deploying a platoon behind the enemy's defensive lines. Quickly, they advanced toward the airfield, being joined by other teams that had snuck past the front. Snipers worked quickly to take out any sentries they spotted, ensuring the teams went unnoticed. At least two sentries had the misfortune of being picked off by 'green' snipers and suffered the indignity of being hit two or three times before they hit the ground.
Once the groups reached the airfields, they hastily got to work trying to disable the anti-aircraft guns. Some were destroyed, others merely disabled, and two were even commandeered to fire against their own. The Illuminate did not let this go unpunished, though, and quickly pulled back a fighter wing to eliminate the teams.
Unfortunately for those fighters, their new orders provided an opening for Infernum forces to reach the fields, one they would not pass up.
"Bomber wings Delta and Epsilon, begin attack. Fighter wing Tau, you are backing them up. Let's give 'em hell."
Acquiescing with Jegudiel's orders, the air wings commenced their assault. The redirected fighters were quickly cut down, leaving the bombers a straight shot at their target. First to attack were the bumblebees, which primarily focused on downing the few anti-air batteries remaining, as well as the enemy air control and sensor towers, leaving the enemy temporarily blind. From their, wing Epsilon began their attack, dropping the heavy payload the wyrms were known for. While they could not use lethal rounds, they were still quite powerful in this war game, as the Commander had developed a special sort of bomb for this training exercise: this type of bomb was filled with a special 'paint' of sorts that functioned like containment foam from the universe designated as 'Worm', but was closer in many respects to molasses. Those caught inside the blast were trapped in a very difficult to escape fluid that slowly hardened and was comparable to tar, albeit one they could breath in. The sight of many struggling shapes in the aftermath of the attack was a thing of beauty to some, and a nightmare to others.
For the majority of those fighting, though, it was merely a very successful attack - few of those who witnessed the attack had the capacity to show fear.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Attack complete, total success. Nearest enemy airfields are dead."
"Good, now focus on pressing their flank. We might be able to get them to route."
"You can say that again, Lernea. Moving to begin bombarding the left flank."
"Happy hunting, Jeg."
Terminating the transmission, Lernea turned her attention back toward the battle at sea. Her forces were currently engaging an enemy fleet that was providing bombardment support for the Illuminate forces landside, and removing them, while by no means guaranteeing victory, would make the ground-pounders job far easier. Of course, that wouldn't be easy - the heart of the fleet was a trio of battleships, and they had air support to back them up. Lernea was not without her own support fleet, but this was still going to be a difficult match.
Her first assault, though, found itself very lucky - a squadron of torpedo bombers managed to get in enough of their payload to overwhelm the enemy torpedo defenses and remove one of the battleships from the war game. The fact they got away with only two planes 'lost' was just the icing on the cake.
Unfortunately, that got the enemy's attention, and the swiftly moved in cruisers to deal with incoming air attacks. The next fighter wing limped home with only three 'survivors', too costly for another air assault to be considered reasonable. Sighing in annoyance, Lernea recalled her other squadrons and decided to change tactics.
If the enemy was prepared for death from above, then she would switch to death from below.
With a simple command, Leviathan, Eradicator, Shroud and Kraken subs, all hiding beneath the range of all but the best sonar systems, ascended to attack depth and fired their torpedos, taking out half of the cruisers and rendering the second battleship dead in the water.
Two down, three to go.
"Nice trick, but it won't work a third time," remarked feminine, contralto voice.
...Who was that?
Just then, Lernea received a new notification - enemy destroyers were headed toward her subs. She quickly ordered them to dive, but five of them were too slow and found themselves out of commission, at least for the duration of this fight.
Merely grunting in annoyance, Lernea quickly began reorganizing her forces once more, this time deciding to launch a combined attack with submarines and aircraft. As her forces readied to move into position, though, the enemy fleet reorganized itself - now, destroyers and cruisers were mixed together, giving them great projection from their own worst enemies, and making her current plan of attack inviable. Additionally, enemy frigates were now breaking off form the fleet to commence an attack on her own fleet, forcing her to move some of her own ships as a defensive measure. Even worse, she quickly received news that an enemy carrier force was heading her way, and that its air wings were already withing striking distance.
Frustration building, Lernea quickly trained her anti-air guns toward the enemy and opened fire, taking out the first three wings before they could even see her.
"Nice aim."
There was that voice again. Who was that?
"Who are you?"
"You may call me Timingila. I am a battleship in service of the Empyrean Illuminate."
"....Battleship?!"
"yes, battleship. You really think your creator is the only being to have intelligent ships serving under him."
"......point made, though why are you talking to me?"
"Well, I would like to compliment you on disabling two of my siblings. You seem to be a good fighter and an....average commander."
A group of submarines, apparently seeking to down the Infenum fleet, began to rise to attack depth. Noticing this, Lernea deployed a group of PT boats to dispatch them, and a few minutes later, the subs were out of the battle.
".....Well, you are more attentive then most."
Lernea smiled at that remark. "Flattery and attempting to distract me with conversation will only get you so far."
As she said this, Lernea ordered her forces to begin advancing toward the bombardment fleet. The carrier group was closing in, and if they couldn't take out Timingila and her fleet now, they weren't going to take them out period.
"Oh, going on the offense? That is very bold of you.......and very foolish."
The minute she said that, Timingila's fleet moved. At first, the moved toward the Infernum fleet, before beginning to turn around, so that their sides were facing the enemy. Though exposing their sides seemed to be a tactical blunder, Lernea had read about this before, and knew what they were do - crossing the T. This kind of maneuver seemed to make you vulnerable (at least, to people who never had experience on the waves), but it actually did the opposite - it made things such that your broadsides were facing the enemy, allowing you to bring most if not all of your guns to bear, while leaving the enemy only able to fire at you with their frontal weapons. It limited the issue of crosser, while increasing said issue for the crossed, and that was discounting how much firepower the crosser could put in the air compared to the crossed.
And Right now, Lernea's entire fleet was about to be crossed.
Well, maybe she could counter that.
Lernea ordered her subs to surface and begin attacking the crossing ships, following that up with an order for her bombers to scramble and support the subs. This served as a method to counter the crossing - the torpedoes might be picked off by torpedo defenses, but quantity was also going to be important here, and unless they had depth charges that could move sideways, the Illuminate fleet would have no easy way to retaliate except with torpedoes of their own. Furthermore, Lernea had already moved into position her cruisers to fire at the enemy vessels, in case they launched sea planes or other types of aircraft equipped with depth charges. No way she would let t her trick.
Sure enough, a fair portion of the enemy fleet was disabled by the attack, the crossing having made them very vulnerable to torpedo attacks. Unfortunately, the enemy fleet still had a fair number of forces left, and their reinforcements were almost here. This fight needed to end, and fast.
Oddly, while the enemy fleet had crossed the remainder of its forces in preparation for the advance of Lernea's, Timingila herself had not turned just yet. Additionally, there seemed to be a straight shot through the enemy fleet for Lernea herself if she kept up the charge. and Lernea did have the firepower to take out the battleship on her own, thanks to her progenitor tech canons.
Lernea could see through the strategy - they wanted her to charge. Then, they would either encircle her, or have Timingila move to cross her, and tear her apart. Lernea new that if she lost the battle, the forces ashore would suffer - her aircraft were meant to support them once the bombardment fleet was out of commission. They could not afford to lose her. But if she didn't take out the battleship now, she'd need to bail out anyway, as she could not take on its reinforcements - she would receive her own for at least half an hour.
So how could she win? Torpedoes seemed to be the way to go, but the enemy had plenty of protection against subs and torpedo bombers, so how could she......oh.
Yeah, that could work.
Smiling, Lernea gave the order.
A moment later, her fleet surged forward, charging toward the enemy. Some moved so that they could get in broadsides, others merely fired onward as they advanced.
As they advanced onwards, Lernea began readying for her attack. Already, her guns were fully armed. She also began moving her load of torpedoes for her planes. Some were indeed sent to the planes they were meant for, but others were moved lower into her decks. She had a certain surprise she wanted to give to Timingila.
"So, you're advancing?" asked Timingila. "Once again, a brave move....."
Then Timingila started turning.
"And a foolish one."
It would only be a matter of moments before Timingila was ready to fire. While the advance of the entire Infernum fleet meant she could not encircle Lernea, Timingila could still sink her foe with just her battleship deck guns.
"Let's agree to disagree." replied the Hydra Class carrier.
Unseen to the carrier, Timingila frowned in confusion, before her sonar gave her a new alert. Analyzing in, she found that several new contacts had just appeared beneath the carrier.
All of which matched up with torpedoes.
And were on an intercept route with her planned crossing path.
And slowing down would not stop her from hitting them.
As the torpedoes charged toward her, Timingila went pale, before simply closing her eyes. While the attack didn't do any damage to her - this was training, why would they hurt her? - this was her first significant loss, even in training.
After a moment, though, she smiled.
Clearly, her opponent was someone who could think quickly when necessary.
Perhaps they could fight again?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Good god, this took forever, and I'm not really sure how good it is.
The next chapter might be another interlude, as I axed a bit of this chapter because I didn't think it would fit in with the rest. Wait and see.
Oh, and read and review, and tell me what was good and what wasn't. I LIKE YOUR OPINIONS!
This is Flameal15k, signing off!
A quick examination of her downed foe confirmed he was still alive, just unconscious. No one was expected to die here, as this was merely a (very advanced) training exercise. Only non-lethal weapons were being used - which amounted to dart guns loaded with tranquilizers, electron rifles, and artillery shells modified to fire either low-end electric charges or knockout gas. The commander had also rigged up torpedo variations to knock out his foes, something they would not hesitate to exploit. They'd even made flak shells that fired knockout gas and EMP shells, though since the plains were mostly doing a simulated battle, those weapons weren't important.
That wasn't to say the fighting was dull, oh no. This battle was just as real as any other.
A flicker of movement alerted Hearth to the arrival of reinforcements in the form of a group of strange rodent creatures that were using cloaking devices. They used their camouflage systems to sneak around the enemy and attack them from behind, with Hearth taking the opportunity to lead a counter charge, forcing the enemy back.
Suddenly, an explosion formed right next her, sending Hearth flying. Turning toward it, she found herself staring at an enemy armored unit, which was busy picking off her allies. It's weapon of choice appeared to be a tank shell that fired rapidly hardening paint, of all things, which trapped all who were caught in the blast field. Cursing her luck, Hearth hastily pulled out an antitank stun grenade and threw it, only for her target to move out of the way. The throw was not for naught, though - it manage to disable an APC that had been hiding behind the tank.
Unfortunately, this alerted the tank to her position, and it quickly turned to engage her. Luck was on her side, though, and a moment later, a large splatter of paint covered the tank, which promptly went inert. Her savior soon revealed itself as a Dragoon class tank, and not just anyone - it was Sigurd.
"Thanks for the save."
"You're welcome. So, what is the situation?"
"We've been trying to slam into their left flank - it's pretty weak, and if we can make them break, well be able to force their army into a pincer and might be able to route them. Unfortunately, it looks like they have air and artillery support. I've got teams ready to deal with the artillery, but they need armor cover. Just know that your forces are a distraction - we're using shovels to get into the artillery nests."
"Where are they headed?"
"Artillery guns are to the East."
"In those hills?"
"Yes."
"Then get ready to push. Battlegroups five and eight, break off from the main attack - we've got teams trying to kill some illuminate artillery, but they need help. You're going to cover them while they charge. Any mortars, missile rovers, and grenadiers you have are to load smoke shells - make sure we use the ones that also screw with sensors."
"Understood, Dragoon-17, Designation Sigurd. Who will give us the mark?"
"I will," replied Hearth.
While the battle raged on, the teams moved into position to strike.
"On my mark........MARK!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Two kilometers to the East, the attack began.
Tanks and artillery provided covering fire as infantry readied to charge. The armor unleashed a hail of fire that would incapacitate anything in their path, while their fire support cquickly covered the area in smoke, leaving the enemy blind. Not to be outdone, the Illuminate ffire their own barrage of artillery at the smoke, intending to make the advance as costly as possible.
Unfortunately, they weren't going to get anyone that way.
Within spitting distance of the guns, the Earth exploded outwards as a drilling machine emerged from the ground, deploying a squad of infantry that swiftly incapacitated the enemy forces unlucky enough to be at ground zero. Once those were down, the soldiers and robots turned their attention toward the enemy artillery, and in a matter of minutes, the guns, rockets, and other assorted indirect fire weapons were knocked out of the fight. A flare was fired into the air, signifying the group's success.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
(Progenitor Communication Network)
Hearth: my boys and girls accomplished their mission, we can consider the guns dead.
Sigurd: Good, but as long as the enemy has air control, we're still in for a tough fight.
Jegudiel: Working on dealing with that now - already organized a group to take out the air fields the bandits are coming from. I could use someone to draw off an anti-air they got, though - less danger we have, going in, the better.
Hearth: I've got a few platoons of bots and troops nearby the target, they'll get the AA offline. Also, Lernea, how are we doing at sea?
Lernea: Good so far, but this isn't a walk in the park - enemy forces have been harrying us with torpedo bombers.
Jeg: Need me to shoot 'em down?
Lernea: Negative, I'm okay. Though this is a little overwhelming.
Sigurd: How so?
Lernea: This is the first time I've actually been given command, and while I have examined all available tactical and strategic training information available from both the Progenitor archives and the various universes we have visited, they aren't the best preparation for, well, the real deal.
Hearth: This is the first time any of us have been given command. You are not alone. Do not get discouraged.
Lernea: Thank you. NOW LET'S WIN THIS!
Sigurd, Jegudiel, Hearth: YEAAAH!
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Unnoticed by the advancing Illuminate forces, another excavator machines emerged from the ground, deploying a platoon behind the enemy's defensive lines. Quickly, they advanced toward the airfield, being joined by other teams that had snuck past the front. Snipers worked quickly to take out any sentries they spotted, ensuring the teams went unnoticed. At least two sentries had the misfortune of being picked off by 'green' snipers and suffered the indignity of being hit two or three times before they hit the ground.
Once the groups reached the airfields, they hastily got to work trying to disable the anti-aircraft guns. Some were destroyed, others merely disabled, and two were even commandeered to fire against their own. The Illuminate did not let this go unpunished, though, and quickly pulled back a fighter wing to eliminate the teams.
Unfortunately for those fighters, their new orders provided an opening for Infernum forces to reach the fields, one they would not pass up.
"Bomber wings Delta and Epsilon, begin attack. Fighter wing Tau, you are backing them up. Let's give 'em hell."
Acquiescing with Jegudiel's orders, the air wings commenced their assault. The redirected fighters were quickly cut down, leaving the bombers a straight shot at their target. First to attack were the bumblebees, which primarily focused on downing the few anti-air batteries remaining, as well as the enemy air control and sensor towers, leaving the enemy temporarily blind. From their, wing Epsilon began their attack, dropping the heavy payload the wyrms were known for. While they could not use lethal rounds, they were still quite powerful in this war game, as the Commander had developed a special sort of bomb for this training exercise: this type of bomb was filled with a special 'paint' of sorts that functioned like containment foam from the universe designated as 'Worm', but was closer in many respects to molasses. Those caught inside the blast were trapped in a very difficult to escape fluid that slowly hardened and was comparable to tar, albeit one they could breath in. The sight of many struggling shapes in the aftermath of the attack was a thing of beauty to some, and a nightmare to others.
For the majority of those fighting, though, it was merely a very successful attack - few of those who witnessed the attack had the capacity to show fear.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Attack complete, total success. Nearest enemy airfields are dead."
"Good, now focus on pressing their flank. We might be able to get them to route."
"You can say that again, Lernea. Moving to begin bombarding the left flank."
"Happy hunting, Jeg."
Terminating the transmission, Lernea turned her attention back toward the battle at sea. Her forces were currently engaging an enemy fleet that was providing bombardment support for the Illuminate forces landside, and removing them, while by no means guaranteeing victory, would make the ground-pounders job far easier. Of course, that wouldn't be easy - the heart of the fleet was a trio of battleships, and they had air support to back them up. Lernea was not without her own support fleet, but this was still going to be a difficult match.
Her first assault, though, found itself very lucky - a squadron of torpedo bombers managed to get in enough of their payload to overwhelm the enemy torpedo defenses and remove one of the battleships from the war game. The fact they got away with only two planes 'lost' was just the icing on the cake.
Unfortunately, that got the enemy's attention, and the swiftly moved in cruisers to deal with incoming air attacks. The next fighter wing limped home with only three 'survivors', too costly for another air assault to be considered reasonable. Sighing in annoyance, Lernea recalled her other squadrons and decided to change tactics.
If the enemy was prepared for death from above, then she would switch to death from below.
With a simple command, Leviathan, Eradicator, Shroud and Kraken subs, all hiding beneath the range of all but the best sonar systems, ascended to attack depth and fired their torpedos, taking out half of the cruisers and rendering the second battleship dead in the water.
Two down, three to go.
"Nice trick, but it won't work a third time," remarked feminine, contralto voice.
...Who was that?
Just then, Lernea received a new notification - enemy destroyers were headed toward her subs. She quickly ordered them to dive, but five of them were too slow and found themselves out of commission, at least for the duration of this fight.
Merely grunting in annoyance, Lernea quickly began reorganizing her forces once more, this time deciding to launch a combined attack with submarines and aircraft. As her forces readied to move into position, though, the enemy fleet reorganized itself - now, destroyers and cruisers were mixed together, giving them great projection from their own worst enemies, and making her current plan of attack inviable. Additionally, enemy frigates were now breaking off form the fleet to commence an attack on her own fleet, forcing her to move some of her own ships as a defensive measure. Even worse, she quickly received news that an enemy carrier force was heading her way, and that its air wings were already withing striking distance.
Frustration building, Lernea quickly trained her anti-air guns toward the enemy and opened fire, taking out the first three wings before they could even see her.
"Nice aim."
There was that voice again. Who was that?
"Who are you?"
"You may call me Timingila. I am a battleship in service of the Empyrean Illuminate."
"....Battleship?!"
"yes, battleship. You really think your creator is the only being to have intelligent ships serving under him."
"......point made, though why are you talking to me?"
"Well, I would like to compliment you on disabling two of my siblings. You seem to be a good fighter and an....average commander."
A group of submarines, apparently seeking to down the Infenum fleet, began to rise to attack depth. Noticing this, Lernea deployed a group of PT boats to dispatch them, and a few minutes later, the subs were out of the battle.
".....Well, you are more attentive then most."
Lernea smiled at that remark. "Flattery and attempting to distract me with conversation will only get you so far."
As she said this, Lernea ordered her forces to begin advancing toward the bombardment fleet. The carrier group was closing in, and if they couldn't take out Timingila and her fleet now, they weren't going to take them out period.
"Oh, going on the offense? That is very bold of you.......and very foolish."
The minute she said that, Timingila's fleet moved. At first, the moved toward the Infernum fleet, before beginning to turn around, so that their sides were facing the enemy. Though exposing their sides seemed to be a tactical blunder, Lernea had read about this before, and knew what they were do - crossing the T. This kind of maneuver seemed to make you vulnerable (at least, to people who never had experience on the waves), but it actually did the opposite - it made things such that your broadsides were facing the enemy, allowing you to bring most if not all of your guns to bear, while leaving the enemy only able to fire at you with their frontal weapons. It limited the issue of crosser, while increasing said issue for the crossed, and that was discounting how much firepower the crosser could put in the air compared to the crossed.
And Right now, Lernea's entire fleet was about to be crossed.
Well, maybe she could counter that.
Lernea ordered her subs to surface and begin attacking the crossing ships, following that up with an order for her bombers to scramble and support the subs. This served as a method to counter the crossing - the torpedoes might be picked off by torpedo defenses, but quantity was also going to be important here, and unless they had depth charges that could move sideways, the Illuminate fleet would have no easy way to retaliate except with torpedoes of their own. Furthermore, Lernea had already moved into position her cruisers to fire at the enemy vessels, in case they launched sea planes or other types of aircraft equipped with depth charges. No way she would let t her trick.
Sure enough, a fair portion of the enemy fleet was disabled by the attack, the crossing having made them very vulnerable to torpedo attacks. Unfortunately, the enemy fleet still had a fair number of forces left, and their reinforcements were almost here. This fight needed to end, and fast.
Oddly, while the enemy fleet had crossed the remainder of its forces in preparation for the advance of Lernea's, Timingila herself had not turned just yet. Additionally, there seemed to be a straight shot through the enemy fleet for Lernea herself if she kept up the charge. and Lernea did have the firepower to take out the battleship on her own, thanks to her progenitor tech canons.
Lernea could see through the strategy - they wanted her to charge. Then, they would either encircle her, or have Timingila move to cross her, and tear her apart. Lernea new that if she lost the battle, the forces ashore would suffer - her aircraft were meant to support them once the bombardment fleet was out of commission. They could not afford to lose her. But if she didn't take out the battleship now, she'd need to bail out anyway, as she could not take on its reinforcements - she would receive her own for at least half an hour.
So how could she win? Torpedoes seemed to be the way to go, but the enemy had plenty of protection against subs and torpedo bombers, so how could she......oh.
Yeah, that could work.
Smiling, Lernea gave the order.
A moment later, her fleet surged forward, charging toward the enemy. Some moved so that they could get in broadsides, others merely fired onward as they advanced.
As they advanced onwards, Lernea began readying for her attack. Already, her guns were fully armed. She also began moving her load of torpedoes for her planes. Some were indeed sent to the planes they were meant for, but others were moved lower into her decks. She had a certain surprise she wanted to give to Timingila.
"So, you're advancing?" asked Timingila. "Once again, a brave move....."
Then Timingila started turning.
"And a foolish one."
It would only be a matter of moments before Timingila was ready to fire. While the advance of the entire Infernum fleet meant she could not encircle Lernea, Timingila could still sink her foe with just her battleship deck guns.
"Let's agree to disagree." replied the Hydra Class carrier.
Unseen to the carrier, Timingila frowned in confusion, before her sonar gave her a new alert. Analyzing in, she found that several new contacts had just appeared beneath the carrier.
All of which matched up with torpedoes.
And were on an intercept route with her planned crossing path.
And slowing down would not stop her from hitting them.
As the torpedoes charged toward her, Timingila went pale, before simply closing her eyes. While the attack didn't do any damage to her - this was training, why would they hurt her? - this was her first significant loss, even in training.
After a moment, though, she smiled.
Clearly, her opponent was someone who could think quickly when necessary.
Perhaps they could fight again?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Good god, this took forever, and I'm not really sure how good it is.
The next chapter might be another interlude, as I axed a bit of this chapter because I didn't think it would fit in with the rest. Wait and see.
Oh, and read and review, and tell me what was good and what wasn't. I LIKE YOUR OPINIONS!
This is Flameal15k, signing off!
Interlude: During the Battle
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
Yeah, another omake. This is from the point of view of people who weren't in that epic battle. So, enjoy!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Wow, impressive fight."
The source of the comment was Synais. He, along with Fide and Kathikon, were watching the training battle on a very large viewscreen, within a media room their creator had set up just for watching this kind of fight. Several bowls of popcorn and assorted drinks rested nearby the trio of advisors, in various states of consumption.
"Really?" responded Kathikon. "All that you can say about the battle is that it is impressive?"
"Well, it is."
Grumbling in annoyance, Kathi turned her attention back to the battle. Right now, both sides had an equal chance of winning, but that could change in an instant.
Her attention was soon pulled away again, though, when she heard another of the screens in the room coming online and playing something other than the battle they were watching. It seemed to be focusing on the wild west.
"You're watching Westworld? Right now?!"
"Hey, it's a good show."
"True, though I believe you're only interested in it for the reasons of amusement and carnality. I saw how you were watching Clementine's .... demonstration yesterday."
"Oh, blah, blah blah, just be quiet."
On the display screen, four riders were entering a town. An interesting piece of music was beginning ot play, as well.
".....Is this Hector's raid?" questioned Kathi.
"Yes. I'm watching it again."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Um, sure. You want to join in, Fide?"
"No, I am fine. I want to see how this battle turns out."
"Okay."
"Hey, guys! You have any extra popcorn?!" questioned Rory as he entered the room. "We ran out in our room and-"
Instantly, Synais hit a button, causing the screen showing Hector's raid to be replaced with another view of the battle on the planet below.
"Hey, what was that about?!" questioned Kathi.
"Yeah, there on the counter," remarked Synais, while shooting a very pointed glare at his complaining companion. Rory failed to notice this as he grabbed two more bowls and headed back to join his siblings in watching the carnage.
"Why did you change the screen? It was getting to the good part!"
"Because," noted Synais, "I do not want to corrupt our creator's son."
"I doubt seeing some blood is going to have adverse effects on his mental wellbeing."
"Well, I'm not taking......any....chances.....oh great, now I'm acting like you."
".....And I am acting like you..........This never happened."
"Nope."
Fide merely grinned at this scene. So amusing.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Back at the Infernum Hub World, several networks had begun broadcasting the battle, hoping to attract viewers with the spectacle. Their hopes were not unfounded, as many were tuning in to watch the conflict. As it was not intended to be a bloody affair, many parents were sitting down to watch it with their children, hoping at least to enjoy some time with their families before the daily issues of life separated them again, if only for a fleeting moment.
"Wow, those are some weird weapons," remarked Pamela. "I mean, who makes a bomb that shoots molasses?"
"Seeing how it doesn't kill you, I would say someone who prefers to take down others non-lethally," was Tobias response.
His sister had decided to take a break from her medical studies (despite being fifteen, she was already certified in first aid and in possession of a associate's degree in medicine) in order to watch the battle, wanting to see something that was, in her words, full of action, rather than the dullness of her education. Tobias couldn't really fault her there, especially since he would have watched the battle regardless of his sister's desires. So far, it was proving enjoyable.
"So, what do you think that molasses bomb was made of?" asked Pamela. "And I want the long description."
"Most likely some high end polymers," was her brother's reply. "Can't be more specific, though - it acts like tar when it hits the air, but is still permeable enough to breathe in. All things considered, its probably something that humans have never even made - I mean, he is using a machine that outstrips everything we've got by years at least."
"I see.....Hey, can you help me make some extra stuff for my emergency bag?"
"As long as it is medicine. I'm a chemist in training and part time cardiologist, not a general doctor."
"I know. Just a few more disinfectants and some penicillin."
"Ok, I'm on it."
XXXXXXX
"GO LERNEA! TAKE DOWN THE MEAN BATTLESHIP!"
"Stephen, the Battleship isn't mean, it's just on the opposite side."
"I know, but this is more fun."
"True."
Alexis and her brother had both tuned into the battle, with their parents joining them for a moment before being forced to leave - some sea gulls were trying to steal the wind chimes again. While they had yet to see their intelligent carrier friend since they had officially emigrated to the federation, they hoped that eventually, they could meet her again and make up for lost time. True, they had only known her for a few weeks, but she was very kind to them, and they would not forget that.
Needless to say, seeing their friend on television, and now in possession of a human body, was a bit surprising.
"So, Hydra 01...I mean, Lernea.... has a body of her own now?" asked Stephen.
"Yes, she does."
"Where'd she get that from? Did she grow it?"
"Considering the technology the Commander has, probably."
"I see.....so, do you want to try and meet her again after this? Maybe we can convince her to let us be her crew? Well, we could be part of her crew, any way."
"Maybe, but I don't think the Head of the Federation, the 'Commander', will let her. We'd be putting ourselves in unnecessary danger, and he wouldn't like that."
"Oh, right.......can we go swimming after this?"
"Sure, but make sure that you wear trunks that fit tight - I'm not covering for you if they slip off like they did five months ago. And I don't think girls we will be into seeing you without clothes yet."
"One, that is disgusting, and two, one of your swimsuits is just a string....."
"......well.....um...."
"Nevermind, but counter."
"Agreed........Set up crab traps before we go swimming?"
"OF COURSE! CRAB IS DELICIOUS!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(Illuminate Home World)
".....That's the first time Timingila has ever lost, isn't it?" remarked Cassidy. It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"Indeed," noted Leal. "This is her first lost. Good thing, too."
"Is that because you learn best from when you mess up?"
"Yes it is."
"Okay. Um, could you go get me some more shrimp? I'm out, and mom didn't show me how to teleport them to my hands yet."
"Of course."
With that, Leal left.
"Your mom really goes crazy when she wants to show off," noted a voice from the other end of the room. Turning toward it, Cassidy saw the petite, fair skinned, freckled and red haired form of Sophia Flowers staring back at her, having taken a moment to turn her attention away from the carnage.
"Yeah, she does. She can also be kinda mean at times, but she's really sweet once you get past that."
"I know, I've seen her nice side first hand."
Indeed she had. After losing her home to the Drengin, Sophia was unsure what would happen to her family, and had been stunned when the head of the Emyprean Illuminate had offered to allow Sophia and her family to live within the Illuminate, no strings attached. Though her parents had initially been unsure about the move, they soon caved in - they did not want to refuse said kindness, especially since the Drengin had more or less bankrupted their insurance company, meaning they didn't really have nay way to recover from the loss of their home without bankrupting themselves. Additionally, the few friends she still had (those who she hadn't grown distant from, had moved away before or after the attack, or had been among the casualties of the Dregin's aggression) had als obeen allowed to join her, with the High Sovereign personally extending the offer to them. It was....nice, to say the least.
Unknown to Sophia, Cassidy was very happy that her mom had allowed the girl to live with them. She'd seen her mom act like a jerk, at times, to put it mildly, and it really made Cass sick to see this, especially since that wasn't who her mom really was. yes, she could grate on your nerves, but beneath that, she was kind and caring for others. She was pretty sure everyone who didn't oppose her was grateful of her kindness...even if they pretended not to.
Idly, as she thought back to her mom offering to let Sophia live in the Illuminate, she couldn't help but laugh a little bit when she realized that Comander Flame had done the exact same thing with many, many people when he had been in the beyond Earth Universe. Perhaps her mom was more similar to that boy than she realized.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As the battle raged on, Celm couldn't help but smile.
The two armies, one belonging to his subordinate, the other her 'pet', had been at it for hours, and while they were finally showing signs of fatigue as a whole, they still had a lot of fight left in them. That was, without a doubt, commendable.
And it seemed the rest of his subordinates felt the same way.
"Well, I'll give her credit, Omega is good at choosing decent people to fight for her," noted Operative Tau.
"Indeed she is," responded Zeta. "Though, I wonder how much longer they will last."
"Can you just shut up and watch the fighting?" asked a third operative, this one named Sigma.
"Fine. Though, does everyone have their special 'gifts' planned for October?" was Tau's response. "I believe that the Illuminate will need them for their special plan."
"Yes, we've got them all ready. And no, we didn't put exploding sheep in there. Or slugs."
That reminded Celm, he needed to prepare for that too.
The conversation soon devolved into their plans for that particular day, unintentionally reminding Celm that yes, that day was coming up soon, and that he needed to prepare for it. Before he could really devote much time to that thought, though, he received a notification from one of his other charges, complaining that frilled dinosaurs ha dbrowln into one of the many auxiliary pantries. Annoyed, he sighed - how did those Jaggi he got from his journey to the lands of Moga continue to escape?
Also, on an unrelated note, what was Draginol going to think of this fight? Celm could tell that Draginol had proved watching it, but he really didn't care to learn the Mithralar's opinion right now - he had things to fix.
What an interesting day.
XXXXXXX
AN: Yeah, kinda boring, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't forget about anyone here. No reason to make OCs with in depth personalities if they never show up again.
So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Wow, impressive fight."
The source of the comment was Synais. He, along with Fide and Kathikon, were watching the training battle on a very large viewscreen, within a media room their creator had set up just for watching this kind of fight. Several bowls of popcorn and assorted drinks rested nearby the trio of advisors, in various states of consumption.
"Really?" responded Kathikon. "All that you can say about the battle is that it is impressive?"
"Well, it is."
Grumbling in annoyance, Kathi turned her attention back to the battle. Right now, both sides had an equal chance of winning, but that could change in an instant.
Her attention was soon pulled away again, though, when she heard another of the screens in the room coming online and playing something other than the battle they were watching. It seemed to be focusing on the wild west.
"You're watching Westworld? Right now?!"
"Hey, it's a good show."
"True, though I believe you're only interested in it for the reasons of amusement and carnality. I saw how you were watching Clementine's .... demonstration yesterday."
"Oh, blah, blah blah, just be quiet."
On the display screen, four riders were entering a town. An interesting piece of music was beginning ot play, as well.
".....Is this Hector's raid?" questioned Kathi.
"Yes. I'm watching it again."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Um, sure. You want to join in, Fide?"
"No, I am fine. I want to see how this battle turns out."
"Okay."
"Hey, guys! You have any extra popcorn?!" questioned Rory as he entered the room. "We ran out in our room and-"
Instantly, Synais hit a button, causing the screen showing Hector's raid to be replaced with another view of the battle on the planet below.
"Hey, what was that about?!" questioned Kathi.
"Yeah, there on the counter," remarked Synais, while shooting a very pointed glare at his complaining companion. Rory failed to notice this as he grabbed two more bowls and headed back to join his siblings in watching the carnage.
"Why did you change the screen? It was getting to the good part!"
"Because," noted Synais, "I do not want to corrupt our creator's son."
"I doubt seeing some blood is going to have adverse effects on his mental wellbeing."
"Well, I'm not taking......any....chances.....oh great, now I'm acting like you."
".....And I am acting like you..........This never happened."
"Nope."
Fide merely grinned at this scene. So amusing.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Back at the Infernum Hub World, several networks had begun broadcasting the battle, hoping to attract viewers with the spectacle. Their hopes were not unfounded, as many were tuning in to watch the conflict. As it was not intended to be a bloody affair, many parents were sitting down to watch it with their children, hoping at least to enjoy some time with their families before the daily issues of life separated them again, if only for a fleeting moment.
"Wow, those are some weird weapons," remarked Pamela. "I mean, who makes a bomb that shoots molasses?"
"Seeing how it doesn't kill you, I would say someone who prefers to take down others non-lethally," was Tobias response.
His sister had decided to take a break from her medical studies (despite being fifteen, she was already certified in first aid and in possession of a associate's degree in medicine) in order to watch the battle, wanting to see something that was, in her words, full of action, rather than the dullness of her education. Tobias couldn't really fault her there, especially since he would have watched the battle regardless of his sister's desires. So far, it was proving enjoyable.
"So, what do you think that molasses bomb was made of?" asked Pamela. "And I want the long description."
"Most likely some high end polymers," was her brother's reply. "Can't be more specific, though - it acts like tar when it hits the air, but is still permeable enough to breathe in. All things considered, its probably something that humans have never even made - I mean, he is using a machine that outstrips everything we've got by years at least."
"I see.....Hey, can you help me make some extra stuff for my emergency bag?"
"As long as it is medicine. I'm a chemist in training and part time cardiologist, not a general doctor."
"I know. Just a few more disinfectants and some penicillin."
"Ok, I'm on it."
XXXXXXX
"GO LERNEA! TAKE DOWN THE MEAN BATTLESHIP!"
"Stephen, the Battleship isn't mean, it's just on the opposite side."
"I know, but this is more fun."
"True."
Alexis and her brother had both tuned into the battle, with their parents joining them for a moment before being forced to leave - some sea gulls were trying to steal the wind chimes again. While they had yet to see their intelligent carrier friend since they had officially emigrated to the federation, they hoped that eventually, they could meet her again and make up for lost time. True, they had only known her for a few weeks, but she was very kind to them, and they would not forget that.
Needless to say, seeing their friend on television, and now in possession of a human body, was a bit surprising.
"So, Hydra 01...I mean, Lernea.... has a body of her own now?" asked Stephen.
"Yes, she does."
"Where'd she get that from? Did she grow it?"
"Considering the technology the Commander has, probably."
"I see.....so, do you want to try and meet her again after this? Maybe we can convince her to let us be her crew? Well, we could be part of her crew, any way."
"Maybe, but I don't think the Head of the Federation, the 'Commander', will let her. We'd be putting ourselves in unnecessary danger, and he wouldn't like that."
"Oh, right.......can we go swimming after this?"
"Sure, but make sure that you wear trunks that fit tight - I'm not covering for you if they slip off like they did five months ago. And I don't think girls we will be into seeing you without clothes yet."
"One, that is disgusting, and two, one of your swimsuits is just a string....."
"......well.....um...."
"Nevermind, but counter."
"Agreed........Set up crab traps before we go swimming?"
"OF COURSE! CRAB IS DELICIOUS!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(Illuminate Home World)
".....That's the first time Timingila has ever lost, isn't it?" remarked Cassidy. It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"Indeed," noted Leal. "This is her first lost. Good thing, too."
"Is that because you learn best from when you mess up?"
"Yes it is."
"Okay. Um, could you go get me some more shrimp? I'm out, and mom didn't show me how to teleport them to my hands yet."
"Of course."
With that, Leal left.
"Your mom really goes crazy when she wants to show off," noted a voice from the other end of the room. Turning toward it, Cassidy saw the petite, fair skinned, freckled and red haired form of Sophia Flowers staring back at her, having taken a moment to turn her attention away from the carnage.
"Yeah, she does. She can also be kinda mean at times, but she's really sweet once you get past that."
"I know, I've seen her nice side first hand."
Indeed she had. After losing her home to the Drengin, Sophia was unsure what would happen to her family, and had been stunned when the head of the Emyprean Illuminate had offered to allow Sophia and her family to live within the Illuminate, no strings attached. Though her parents had initially been unsure about the move, they soon caved in - they did not want to refuse said kindness, especially since the Drengin had more or less bankrupted their insurance company, meaning they didn't really have nay way to recover from the loss of their home without bankrupting themselves. Additionally, the few friends she still had (those who she hadn't grown distant from, had moved away before or after the attack, or had been among the casualties of the Dregin's aggression) had als obeen allowed to join her, with the High Sovereign personally extending the offer to them. It was....nice, to say the least.
Unknown to Sophia, Cassidy was very happy that her mom had allowed the girl to live with them. She'd seen her mom act like a jerk, at times, to put it mildly, and it really made Cass sick to see this, especially since that wasn't who her mom really was. yes, she could grate on your nerves, but beneath that, she was kind and caring for others. She was pretty sure everyone who didn't oppose her was grateful of her kindness...even if they pretended not to.
Idly, as she thought back to her mom offering to let Sophia live in the Illuminate, she couldn't help but laugh a little bit when she realized that Comander Flame had done the exact same thing with many, many people when he had been in the beyond Earth Universe. Perhaps her mom was more similar to that boy than she realized.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As the battle raged on, Celm couldn't help but smile.
The two armies, one belonging to his subordinate, the other her 'pet', had been at it for hours, and while they were finally showing signs of fatigue as a whole, they still had a lot of fight left in them. That was, without a doubt, commendable.
And it seemed the rest of his subordinates felt the same way.
"Well, I'll give her credit, Omega is good at choosing decent people to fight for her," noted Operative Tau.
"Indeed she is," responded Zeta. "Though, I wonder how much longer they will last."
"Can you just shut up and watch the fighting?" asked a third operative, this one named Sigma.
"Fine. Though, does everyone have their special 'gifts' planned for October?" was Tau's response. "I believe that the Illuminate will need them for their special plan."
"Yes, we've got them all ready. And no, we didn't put exploding sheep in there. Or slugs."
That reminded Celm, he needed to prepare for that too.
The conversation soon devolved into their plans for that particular day, unintentionally reminding Celm that yes, that day was coming up soon, and that he needed to prepare for it. Before he could really devote much time to that thought, though, he received a notification from one of his other charges, complaining that frilled dinosaurs ha dbrowln into one of the many auxiliary pantries. Annoyed, he sighed - how did those Jaggi he got from his journey to the lands of Moga continue to escape?
Also, on an unrelated note, what was Draginol going to think of this fight? Celm could tell that Draginol had proved watching it, but he really didn't care to learn the Mithralar's opinion right now - he had things to fix.
What an interesting day.
XXXXXXX
AN: Yeah, kinda boring, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't forget about anyone here. No reason to make OCs with in depth personalities if they never show up again.
So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!
131. Moving On
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
It lasted about six hours in total, but ultimately, the training battle came to an end. The results were inconclusive, though - both my forces and Melissa's were battered to the point that if either of us had won the battle, it was a pyrrhic victory AT BEST. Sure, no one had died, but both our armies were too exhausted to fight anymore. Besides, winning wasn't the point here, getting experience for our forces was. In that regard, this battle had been a victory for both of us.
Reviewing the footage of the battle, I noted that my four sapient AIs had handled themselves well in their first tenures as leaders. Sure, they had not been master strategists, but they hadn't made any tactical or strategic blunders, either. This was a good start for them. I noted that, all across the board, those who had been commanding the armies I sent to the war game had handled themselves well, with only a few making any major blunders, and surprisingly, those who did make some major mistakes managed to handle themselves well enough in the aftermath. If this was what I was starting with, then I could only wonder where they would go.
I also noticed that, apparently, I was not the only one to possess an intelligent ship with a human body - Melissa had one of her own, named Timingila. Was she a fan of Indian Mythology? Eh, that could be left for later - I need to concentrate on the fact that yes, she had an intelligent ship. According the transmissions I'd hacked (and which Melissa had made no effort to prevent me from hacking), Timingila was something of an ace among the Illuminate forces, and this had been the first battle she had ever lost. That made me feel just a bit more pride in Lernea, as she had taken down the best of Melissa's navy with only a mild amount of experience of her own.
On the topic of Timingila, I noticed that her form was very organic looking, even when compared to Lernea. The battleship appeared to be made out of an insects carapace, covered in shiny plates of chitin-like material, and armed to the teeth. Apparently, she was also equipped with very affective anti-air defenses, eliminating one of the greatest weaknesses that had historically plagued battleships. There was a reason carriers had replaced them as the rulers of the sea, but it seemed that she had found a way to turn things back to her favor. Food for thought.
While my forces retreated, re-armed, and finally took a break, and my opponents did the same, I decided to see if I could learn anything else about Melissa from the communications that her minions were making. Admittedly, it was a long shot that I would find anything of value in these communications, but if something did come up and I missed it because I wasn't listening in, I had no right to complain.
Right off the bat, I could tell that most of the information was of no use to me - people discussing how the battle went, where they'd done well, where improvement was needed, the like. Some of the conversations eventually shifted to other topics, such as family events, movies, dinners, shopping, and (unsurprisingly) getting laid. People never really changed, did they? No matter their body shape or way of thinking, we were all the same, deep down.
Back on topic - listening into the communications did yield some useful intel - chiefly about the units my opponents used. Apparently Timingila's class of battleship (the 'sea ravager') was particularly vulnerable to torpedoes, but hitting it with them was the problem. See, the ship not only had powerful Anti-Air weapons, but also specialized homing depth charges for fighting off subs. It seemed the Lernea's victory had been entirely due to out-thinking her opponent, based on what I was hearing. Well, good for her.
Some other details I learned were that the Illuminate had a specialized tank/APC hybrid unit that looked sort of like a centipede and was capable of both moving fast, hitting hard, and taking a ton of fire before dying. It's primary weakness was mines and other attacks that flipped it over, since it couldn't easily get back up being tipped. The joints between its segments were the best targets for actually harming it. As for her air forces, one of her creations resembled a bat crossed with a snake and given energy shooting stinger tails. Their weak spots were between the shoulders from behind, but since hey could fly upside down, you usually needed to surround them to exploit it.
This and more I obtained from examining the communications of my foe, but while all of it was good information, it wasn't what I wanted. So while I was grateful for what I was hearing, I was beginning to feel that this would not give me any leads on Melissa.
Then, finally, I hit pay dirt - someone mentioned something about October 11, which made this the second time that that particular date had been mentioned. Apparently, it was really important for the Illuminate, and they were pulling out every stop that they could so that it could be as good as possible. What exactly it was, though, was not stated. Also, someone asked if Melissa liked the Aurorus Arboretum.
Note to self: protect those trees. Also, why exactly was this important?
.....I'll save finding that out for later. Now how am I doing elsewhere?
XXXXXXXX
Pretty good, as it turns out.
The Dread Lords are falling back on all fronts, the Drengin are steadily losing territory and resources, the Korath haven't split off yet from their main race, the Korx have lost their majority control of all markets, and the Yor are still being isolationists. Good, less trouble for me.
Also, Draginol is still nowhere to be seen. How is that possible?
......wait, what's this?
.....The Dread Lords are fighting with the Drengin for control of a planet? Big deal-there are ruins on the planet? Okay, so maybe I should try to stop them from wrecking any tech I could come across - THOSE ARE PROGENITOR RUINS!? THE HELL?!
QUICK! TIME TO INTERVENE!
XXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
Reviewing the footage of the battle, I noted that my four sapient AIs had handled themselves well in their first tenures as leaders. Sure, they had not been master strategists, but they hadn't made any tactical or strategic blunders, either. This was a good start for them. I noted that, all across the board, those who had been commanding the armies I sent to the war game had handled themselves well, with only a few making any major blunders, and surprisingly, those who did make some major mistakes managed to handle themselves well enough in the aftermath. If this was what I was starting with, then I could only wonder where they would go.
I also noticed that, apparently, I was not the only one to possess an intelligent ship with a human body - Melissa had one of her own, named Timingila. Was she a fan of Indian Mythology? Eh, that could be left for later - I need to concentrate on the fact that yes, she had an intelligent ship. According the transmissions I'd hacked (and which Melissa had made no effort to prevent me from hacking), Timingila was something of an ace among the Illuminate forces, and this had been the first battle she had ever lost. That made me feel just a bit more pride in Lernea, as she had taken down the best of Melissa's navy with only a mild amount of experience of her own.
On the topic of Timingila, I noticed that her form was very organic looking, even when compared to Lernea. The battleship appeared to be made out of an insects carapace, covered in shiny plates of chitin-like material, and armed to the teeth. Apparently, she was also equipped with very affective anti-air defenses, eliminating one of the greatest weaknesses that had historically plagued battleships. There was a reason carriers had replaced them as the rulers of the sea, but it seemed that she had found a way to turn things back to her favor. Food for thought.
While my forces retreated, re-armed, and finally took a break, and my opponents did the same, I decided to see if I could learn anything else about Melissa from the communications that her minions were making. Admittedly, it was a long shot that I would find anything of value in these communications, but if something did come up and I missed it because I wasn't listening in, I had no right to complain.
Right off the bat, I could tell that most of the information was of no use to me - people discussing how the battle went, where they'd done well, where improvement was needed, the like. Some of the conversations eventually shifted to other topics, such as family events, movies, dinners, shopping, and (unsurprisingly) getting laid. People never really changed, did they? No matter their body shape or way of thinking, we were all the same, deep down.
Back on topic - listening into the communications did yield some useful intel - chiefly about the units my opponents used. Apparently Timingila's class of battleship (the 'sea ravager') was particularly vulnerable to torpedoes, but hitting it with them was the problem. See, the ship not only had powerful Anti-Air weapons, but also specialized homing depth charges for fighting off subs. It seemed the Lernea's victory had been entirely due to out-thinking her opponent, based on what I was hearing. Well, good for her.
Some other details I learned were that the Illuminate had a specialized tank/APC hybrid unit that looked sort of like a centipede and was capable of both moving fast, hitting hard, and taking a ton of fire before dying. It's primary weakness was mines and other attacks that flipped it over, since it couldn't easily get back up being tipped. The joints between its segments were the best targets for actually harming it. As for her air forces, one of her creations resembled a bat crossed with a snake and given energy shooting stinger tails. Their weak spots were between the shoulders from behind, but since hey could fly upside down, you usually needed to surround them to exploit it.
This and more I obtained from examining the communications of my foe, but while all of it was good information, it wasn't what I wanted. So while I was grateful for what I was hearing, I was beginning to feel that this would not give me any leads on Melissa.
Then, finally, I hit pay dirt - someone mentioned something about October 11, which made this the second time that that particular date had been mentioned. Apparently, it was really important for the Illuminate, and they were pulling out every stop that they could so that it could be as good as possible. What exactly it was, though, was not stated. Also, someone asked if Melissa liked the Aurorus Arboretum.
Note to self: protect those trees. Also, why exactly was this important?
.....I'll save finding that out for later. Now how am I doing elsewhere?
XXXXXXXX
Pretty good, as it turns out.
The Dread Lords are falling back on all fronts, the Drengin are steadily losing territory and resources, the Korath haven't split off yet from their main race, the Korx have lost their majority control of all markets, and the Yor are still being isolationists. Good, less trouble for me.
Also, Draginol is still nowhere to be seen. How is that possible?
......wait, what's this?
.....The Dread Lords are fighting with the Drengin for control of a planet? Big deal-there are ruins on the planet? Okay, so maybe I should try to stop them from wrecking any tech I could come across - THOSE ARE PROGENITOR RUINS!? THE HELL?!
QUICK! TIME TO INTERVENE!
XXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
Last edited:
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
Fixed, thanks for the help.
132. Phasing Through Past And Present
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, while the Dread Lords and Drengin were busy killing each other in orbit of the planet, they hadn't even noticed the ruins, and, luckily for me, weren't even fighting overhead of them. Taking advantage of my advanced stealth systems, I landed a few fabbers nearby the ruins and began setting up lots and lots of umbrellas, in case they came too close for comfort, as well as several factories so that I could quickly get them out of the way. I was already massing up a fleet to destroy both sides, but in the event they landed, I wanted to have something besides orbital bombardment to use to deal with them.
I also had some of the fabbers get to work building a massive energy shield derived from native technology, but massively improved to block all attacks, regardless of their nature. Best to be sure that the ruins were safe before I dealt with the warring fleets in orbit.
So far, so go-what, what's this?
.....Some kind of strange signal? And its coming from the ruins?
Well, lets send a scout to investigate.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Above the world's surface, the two fleets raged on, pounding each other into dust. Each side desired the planet for the same reason - its close proximity to an extremely rich asteroid belt that could feed their war machine's for decades on end. That kind of material wealth was definitely worth fighting for.
To Iacturos, it was meaningless. The wealth in the asteroids was of no concern to him - no, what he was interested in lied on the planet's surface, having spent millennia there, decaying every so slowly in piece. Now, though, it was time to bring it home.
Things had been complicated by the fact that the planet somehow resisted his ability to instantly teleport it away, and the arrival of the Commander had only muddied them further. The ROB had been forced to hide in the ruins to avoid the commander's sight, and there was only so long before the commander found him. Even if he was invisible to the commander's sensors, the boy need only look through one of his scout's to see him, if he found him, of course. Which given the fact that the boy was putting up an increasingly large number of defenses around the ruins, was only become more and more likely as time dragged on.
Sure enough, a scout began rolling toward the ruins, clearly intent on searching them for....something. Curious as to where it was going, Iacturos followed it, always being sure to put at least one large piece of ruins between himself and the vehicle. Eventually, it came to a stop in front of one very large piece of ruins. At first, Iacturos was confused - why was this piece more important than the rest? Was it emitting some kind of signal?
Apparently it was. As the ROB stared on, confused, he noticed that the ruins looked familiar. Perhaps it was some kind of old progenitor structure he'd found in another universe? It seemed to have three towers on it, along with a large set of stairs leading up the base toward its mid section.
Then he look at the ruins again, and he went rigid with shock.
Yes, he did recognize these ruins. But they weren't from a commander.
The towers were not towers, but arms and a head, while the stairs were really a set of treads. And, if he looked hard enough, he could make out a circle on the central tower, one that looked suspiciously like an eye.
All in all, it wasn't hard to make out the shape of an Aeson Commander.
....which the scout was now scanning.....
"Oh balls," swore the ROB.
XXXXXXXXX
You're kidding me.
A PROGENETOR COMMANDER!? HERE?!?
Quickly, I started scanning the commander, trying to find out why it had emitted the signal. Distress, perhaps?
Maybe it had been a warn-AGH, PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINSOMUCHPAIN!
MAKE IT STOP!!!!!
AGGGHHH-and now its gone. Ahh...
Ugh, what the hell was that about?
Curiously, I looked around the ruins, trying to see if there was anything else that could make sense of what I'd seen. I briefly reset the sensors on the scout to see if that would help.
When they came back online, what I saw caused me to blink.
Yes, I was still looking at the ruins.
Only now, they weren't ruins.
Now, they were, well, pristine, like they had just been built.
Confused, I blinked again, and suddenly everything was back to normal.
...okay, that isn't good.
Also, the Dread Lords and Drengin were starting to move their fighting toward the part of the planet where the ruins were. Time to deal with them.
XXXXXXXXXX
The first hint both sides had that I was going to crush them was when a large number of their ships were suddenly blasted out of existence by a barrage of fire from my umbrellas, after which I proceeded to sick my orbital fighters and some Omegas I'd just moved in on them, causing both sides to quickly become confused and disoriented. I couldn't help but enjoy the epic battle and laugh at their pathetic attempts to stop me.
Then my vision blurred, and when it cleared, I saw a new sight - a fleet of classic PA ships fighting the Dread Lords. None of my new ships, none of the Drengin's, just classic PA tech verses Dread Lords.
What the hell?
Then my vision blurred again, and once it cleared, the three way battle between me, the Drengin and the Dread Lords had resumed.
Okay, things were really getting weird now.
Just what the heck had happened when I scanned that Commander?
....no time to ponder now, back to fighting.
It didn't take long for me to route both sides, who hastily attempted to retreat. 'Attempted' being the key word here - they were cut down to the last by my forces, with several falling down toward the planet below. I'd already planned for what to do next - having scanned the enemy vessels before the fight, I sent a false report to both sides claiming that the two forces had destroyed each other, which, given the size of the Drengin fleet, was actually reasonable. With both sides assuming the other had won the battle, I would have plenty of time to examine the ruins.
Briefly, I watched as a Drengin ship burned up in atmosphere, blazing over the ruins of something squid as it did so.
Yet again my vision blurred. Oh joy.
When it cleared, I found myself watching a Dread Lord vessel falling toward the planet, along with the magnificent explosion from its impact.
One last time, my vision blurred, and when it came back into focus, I was staring at the ruins again.
This time, though, I noticed something very worrying.
The squidlike ruins below.....matched up EXACTLY with the way the Dread Lord ship had ended up following the crash.
Was I seeing the past?
Suddenly, I picked up a massive energy surge all over the planet. Before I could react, the world flowed brightly, then suddenly vanished.
....no. No. Hell no. NO FUCKING WAY! NOT THIS! COME BACK YOU STUPID PLANET!
"The planet you are talking does not have a mind, therefore it cannot be considered dumb or smart."
...who the hell was that?
"I'm sending you a picture right now."
A moment later, a picture showed up. My eyes widened as I stared at it. For many, the strange robed/armored figure in the picture would not elicit a reaction, but the sight did in fact manage to surprise me.
After all, this wasn't the only time he'd stolen a planet from me.
"I'm sorry for stealing it, but I have my orders."
"And who gave them to you?"
"My superior, Celempheros."
.....WHAT?!
"My Superior has....reasons for allowing your 'sponsor' to send you on this adventure, and recovery of Progenitor artifacts is one of them. I apologize for the inconvenience."
SCREW YOU!
"Again, I'm sorry. I apologize in advance for any future interference I may have on your plans."
Then the line went dead.
....okay, what the hell did Celm have planned for me?
XXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flamela15k, signing off!
I also had some of the fabbers get to work building a massive energy shield derived from native technology, but massively improved to block all attacks, regardless of their nature. Best to be sure that the ruins were safe before I dealt with the warring fleets in orbit.
So far, so go-what, what's this?
.....Some kind of strange signal? And its coming from the ruins?
Well, lets send a scout to investigate.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Above the world's surface, the two fleets raged on, pounding each other into dust. Each side desired the planet for the same reason - its close proximity to an extremely rich asteroid belt that could feed their war machine's for decades on end. That kind of material wealth was definitely worth fighting for.
To Iacturos, it was meaningless. The wealth in the asteroids was of no concern to him - no, what he was interested in lied on the planet's surface, having spent millennia there, decaying every so slowly in piece. Now, though, it was time to bring it home.
Things had been complicated by the fact that the planet somehow resisted his ability to instantly teleport it away, and the arrival of the Commander had only muddied them further. The ROB had been forced to hide in the ruins to avoid the commander's sight, and there was only so long before the commander found him. Even if he was invisible to the commander's sensors, the boy need only look through one of his scout's to see him, if he found him, of course. Which given the fact that the boy was putting up an increasingly large number of defenses around the ruins, was only become more and more likely as time dragged on.
Sure enough, a scout began rolling toward the ruins, clearly intent on searching them for....something. Curious as to where it was going, Iacturos followed it, always being sure to put at least one large piece of ruins between himself and the vehicle. Eventually, it came to a stop in front of one very large piece of ruins. At first, Iacturos was confused - why was this piece more important than the rest? Was it emitting some kind of signal?
Apparently it was. As the ROB stared on, confused, he noticed that the ruins looked familiar. Perhaps it was some kind of old progenitor structure he'd found in another universe? It seemed to have three towers on it, along with a large set of stairs leading up the base toward its mid section.
Then he look at the ruins again, and he went rigid with shock.
Yes, he did recognize these ruins. But they weren't from a commander.
The towers were not towers, but arms and a head, while the stairs were really a set of treads. And, if he looked hard enough, he could make out a circle on the central tower, one that looked suspiciously like an eye.
All in all, it wasn't hard to make out the shape of an Aeson Commander.
....which the scout was now scanning.....
"Oh balls," swore the ROB.
XXXXXXXXX
You're kidding me.
A PROGENETOR COMMANDER!? HERE?!?
Quickly, I started scanning the commander, trying to find out why it had emitted the signal. Distress, perhaps?
Maybe it had been a warn-AGH, PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINSOMUCHPAIN!
MAKE IT STOP!!!!!
AGGGHHH-and now its gone. Ahh...
Ugh, what the hell was that about?
Curiously, I looked around the ruins, trying to see if there was anything else that could make sense of what I'd seen. I briefly reset the sensors on the scout to see if that would help.
When they came back online, what I saw caused me to blink.
Yes, I was still looking at the ruins.
Only now, they weren't ruins.
Now, they were, well, pristine, like they had just been built.
Confused, I blinked again, and suddenly everything was back to normal.
...okay, that isn't good.
Also, the Dread Lords and Drengin were starting to move their fighting toward the part of the planet where the ruins were. Time to deal with them.
XXXXXXXXXX
The first hint both sides had that I was going to crush them was when a large number of their ships were suddenly blasted out of existence by a barrage of fire from my umbrellas, after which I proceeded to sick my orbital fighters and some Omegas I'd just moved in on them, causing both sides to quickly become confused and disoriented. I couldn't help but enjoy the epic battle and laugh at their pathetic attempts to stop me.
Then my vision blurred, and when it cleared, I saw a new sight - a fleet of classic PA ships fighting the Dread Lords. None of my new ships, none of the Drengin's, just classic PA tech verses Dread Lords.
What the hell?
Then my vision blurred again, and once it cleared, the three way battle between me, the Drengin and the Dread Lords had resumed.
Okay, things were really getting weird now.
Just what the heck had happened when I scanned that Commander?
....no time to ponder now, back to fighting.
It didn't take long for me to route both sides, who hastily attempted to retreat. 'Attempted' being the key word here - they were cut down to the last by my forces, with several falling down toward the planet below. I'd already planned for what to do next - having scanned the enemy vessels before the fight, I sent a false report to both sides claiming that the two forces had destroyed each other, which, given the size of the Drengin fleet, was actually reasonable. With both sides assuming the other had won the battle, I would have plenty of time to examine the ruins.
Briefly, I watched as a Drengin ship burned up in atmosphere, blazing over the ruins of something squid as it did so.
Yet again my vision blurred. Oh joy.
When it cleared, I found myself watching a Dread Lord vessel falling toward the planet, along with the magnificent explosion from its impact.
One last time, my vision blurred, and when it came back into focus, I was staring at the ruins again.
This time, though, I noticed something very worrying.
The squidlike ruins below.....matched up EXACTLY with the way the Dread Lord ship had ended up following the crash.
Was I seeing the past?
Suddenly, I picked up a massive energy surge all over the planet. Before I could react, the world flowed brightly, then suddenly vanished.
....no. No. Hell no. NO FUCKING WAY! NOT THIS! COME BACK YOU STUPID PLANET!
"The planet you are talking does not have a mind, therefore it cannot be considered dumb or smart."
...who the hell was that?
"I'm sending you a picture right now."
A moment later, a picture showed up. My eyes widened as I stared at it. For many, the strange robed/armored figure in the picture would not elicit a reaction, but the sight did in fact manage to surprise me.
After all, this wasn't the only time he'd stolen a planet from me.
"I'm sorry for stealing it, but I have my orders."
"And who gave them to you?"
"My superior, Celempheros."
.....WHAT?!
"My Superior has....reasons for allowing your 'sponsor' to send you on this adventure, and recovery of Progenitor artifacts is one of them. I apologize for the inconvenience."
SCREW YOU!
"Again, I'm sorry. I apologize in advance for any future interference I may have on your plans."
Then the line went dead.
....okay, what the hell did Celm have planned for me?
XXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flamela15k, signing off!
133. A Conversation with Melissa
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
With only one real lead to follow as to what was goin on regarding Iacturos and, in turn, why Celm was interfering with my adventures, I reluctantly decided to try and contact Melissa. Hopefully, she wouldn't clam up about the topic.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Hello, you are speaking to the High Sovereign of the Emyprean Illuminate, how may I help you."
"Is that how you greet everyone?"
"No, I just wanted to see how you would react. Less amusing than I expected."
"Sorry for ruining your expectations."
"Why? What reason do you have to be sorry?"
"None. I merely apologized out of reflex."
AN: Yes, I really do apologize out of reflex at times, or to be sarcastic. I also apologize far more than necessary for some things.
"Oh, I see. So, why did you call me?"
"Do you know someone by the name of Iacturos?"
"....How do you know that name?"
"He just apologized to me for stealing a planet that I had just taken. Said planet had Progenitor ruins on it. I'd like an explanation."
"Okay, just.....could you meet with me?"
"Where?"
"My hub universe. I'll open up a portal for you to arrive there."
"Okay, but I would like to know why I am going there."
"I can't be sure that someone isn't listening in on us. I'm omnipotent, not omniscient, and Celm forbids me from my powers to prevent people from overhearing certain conversations - wants me to learn discretion. Not sure how this helps me learn that, but still."
"....Fine, I'm coming over. But I do want a full explanation......at least, within what your superior's deem acceptable."
"Fair enough."
"Also, can Rory and the rest of the kids come along? I think he'd like to spend some time with Cassidy."
"Of course. She really likes them."
XXXXXXXXXX
Once I had got all of my kids rounded up, we marched through the portal that had spontaneously appeared in my tower and arrived in Melissa's abode. Cassidy practically squeed when she saw us and swiftly invited them to play a game (dodgeball, if I was observing things right), leaving me and Melissa alone to discuss my question. Surprisngly, Melissa insisted in serving me a couple of fruits, because I was her guest.
I stared at them for a moment, unsure if I would regret eating them, before deciding to take a bite out of one of them.
"....Wow, these are good."
Yeah, they were really, really tasty. And juicy.
"Thank you. Why did you hesitate to eat one? I' not going to poison you - I lose my best source of entertainment."
"I know, I was just worried I wouldn't like the taste."
"Oh. I suppose I can understand that."
"Well, with that out of the way, could you explain why, exactly, Iacturos interfered with my operations?"
"Okay, but how do you know that I know him?"
"I found a video on my Commander of him helping you after some of your, for lack of better term, coworkers attacked you."
"And what did they attack me over?" she asked, apparently doubting my honesty.
"Well, they seemed angry that Celm chose you to head the Commander project."
The minute I said that, she seemed to freeze up, and her face lost a tiny bit of its color. Given that she was already pale, it made her look rather sickly.
"Oh. I see. I didn't know that he recorded it."
"Can you explain why, exactly, your 'friend' nullified one of my greatest triumphs?"
"We're not really friends, and, well, Celm ordered him to do so."
"Why?"
"...Look, you found Progenitor ruins on that planet, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did."
"Well, that's why Iac took it from you - Celm wants those ruins."
Okay, now we are getting somewhere.
"Why is that?"
"Can you answer two questions for me first?"
"Yes, but this counts as one of them."
"I thought so. As for the other question, is this the first time you've discovered a planet with Progenitor ruins on it in your travels?"
"....No, actually. I found another one in the Civilization universe."
"And I presume Celm took that one from you, too?"
"Yes, he did."
"I thought so. Anyway, you ever wonder why those ruins showed up there?"
"Not really."
Just saying that and knowing it was true actually made me worried. I mean, finding Progenitor artifacts in other universes was kind of a big deal.
"Well, you could blame that on my superior. He would prefer that you not investigate that mystery."
"I'm not sure that you could tell me why that is, so I have a different question: why are there Progenitor ruins in this universe and the Civilization one."
"I don't really know. Celm has an idea, though."
"He does?"
"Yeah. See, the schematics for the multiversal gate I gave you? Celm said he found it onboard the commander when he first found it. Going off that, he thinks that maybe ROBs like me weren't the first people to send commanders across the multiverse."
"So you're saying the Progenitors might have had their own multiversal adventures?"
"Maybe that, maybe they were multiversal conquerors, maybe they just wanted to see the beauty in all creation. I don't really know which is true, but whatever the reason, they seemed to be willing to spread at least their technology across reality. At least, that's what I've heard."
"So why does your superior want those ruins?"
"Eh, he's interested in them. He's an archeologist of sorts - he likes collecting the ruins of ancient civilizations and studying them. With these guys, though, he practically seems to worship them. Wants to get all of their tech safe and sound so that people don't 'tarnish the legacy of the Progenitors'. Seems to include commanders in that category too, if what I've heard him say about others like you is any indication."
"Wouldn't the fault lie in those who put people in commanders in the first place? And if he has those feeling, then he's being rather hypocritical, considering what you are using me for."
"Eh, he thinks it is a necessary evil - the ruins are easier to find if an active progenitor machine is present - progenitor tech apparently seeks out more of its kind. He might not like me putting you in there, but he seems to think that maybe, putting an individual with a good heart in a Commander might make some of the worst hellholes in existence better places."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"You're welcome."
I merely grinned at that...Then I noticed that, while listening to my ROB, I'd run out of fruit. Melissa realized this a second later, and called for a servant to pick it up.
A few minutes later, a young woman arrived and collected my plate. As she left, though, a ball suddenly flew into her. The plate went into the air while the woman tumbled to the ground. Before either object could hit the ground, though, both were caught by....something. It was paled skinned, scale, wearing armor and.....no way.
"Is that a....locust?" I asked Melissa, not taking my eyes off of the being I presumed was a locust drone helped the female servant back to her feet.
"Swarm, actually. And its a scion, not a locust."
"Scion....oh, right, new enemies from Gears of War 4. How'd you get such a bloodthirsty race to be - "
"A lot of work," responded my ROB, a hint of menace in her voice.
I threw my hands up into the air, apologetically.
"Sorry. Just a little surprised."
"I understand. Just, please, don't insult those who follow me, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good. Now, if you must excuse me, I have to go. I've reopened the portal you came in through, use it to leave."
"Okay. Well, goodbye then."
"Farewell."
With that, Melissa got up and left.
As she did, I noticed something very odd.
No, she didn't have anything weird on her clothes. The oddity was actually in her shadow.
See, her body was, aside form its paleness, completely indistinguishable from a normal human.
But her shadow?
It looked like one from a monster.
......Was that what she really looked like?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
XXXXXXXXXX
"Hello, you are speaking to the High Sovereign of the Emyprean Illuminate, how may I help you."
"Is that how you greet everyone?"
"No, I just wanted to see how you would react. Less amusing than I expected."
"Sorry for ruining your expectations."
"Why? What reason do you have to be sorry?"
"None. I merely apologized out of reflex."
AN: Yes, I really do apologize out of reflex at times, or to be sarcastic. I also apologize far more than necessary for some things.
"Oh, I see. So, why did you call me?"
"Do you know someone by the name of Iacturos?"
"....How do you know that name?"
"He just apologized to me for stealing a planet that I had just taken. Said planet had Progenitor ruins on it. I'd like an explanation."
"Okay, just.....could you meet with me?"
"Where?"
"My hub universe. I'll open up a portal for you to arrive there."
"Okay, but I would like to know why I am going there."
"I can't be sure that someone isn't listening in on us. I'm omnipotent, not omniscient, and Celm forbids me from my powers to prevent people from overhearing certain conversations - wants me to learn discretion. Not sure how this helps me learn that, but still."
"....Fine, I'm coming over. But I do want a full explanation......at least, within what your superior's deem acceptable."
"Fair enough."
"Also, can Rory and the rest of the kids come along? I think he'd like to spend some time with Cassidy."
"Of course. She really likes them."
XXXXXXXXXX
Once I had got all of my kids rounded up, we marched through the portal that had spontaneously appeared in my tower and arrived in Melissa's abode. Cassidy practically squeed when she saw us and swiftly invited them to play a game (dodgeball, if I was observing things right), leaving me and Melissa alone to discuss my question. Surprisngly, Melissa insisted in serving me a couple of fruits, because I was her guest.
I stared at them for a moment, unsure if I would regret eating them, before deciding to take a bite out of one of them.
"....Wow, these are good."
Yeah, they were really, really tasty. And juicy.
"Thank you. Why did you hesitate to eat one? I' not going to poison you - I lose my best source of entertainment."
"I know, I was just worried I wouldn't like the taste."
"Oh. I suppose I can understand that."
"Well, with that out of the way, could you explain why, exactly, Iacturos interfered with my operations?"
"Okay, but how do you know that I know him?"
"I found a video on my Commander of him helping you after some of your, for lack of better term, coworkers attacked you."
"And what did they attack me over?" she asked, apparently doubting my honesty.
"Well, they seemed angry that Celm chose you to head the Commander project."
The minute I said that, she seemed to freeze up, and her face lost a tiny bit of its color. Given that she was already pale, it made her look rather sickly.
"Oh. I see. I didn't know that he recorded it."
"Can you explain why, exactly, your 'friend' nullified one of my greatest triumphs?"
"We're not really friends, and, well, Celm ordered him to do so."
"Why?"
"...Look, you found Progenitor ruins on that planet, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did."
"Well, that's why Iac took it from you - Celm wants those ruins."
Okay, now we are getting somewhere.
"Why is that?"
"Can you answer two questions for me first?"
"Yes, but this counts as one of them."
"I thought so. As for the other question, is this the first time you've discovered a planet with Progenitor ruins on it in your travels?"
"....No, actually. I found another one in the Civilization universe."
"And I presume Celm took that one from you, too?"
"Yes, he did."
"I thought so. Anyway, you ever wonder why those ruins showed up there?"
"Not really."
Just saying that and knowing it was true actually made me worried. I mean, finding Progenitor artifacts in other universes was kind of a big deal.
"Well, you could blame that on my superior. He would prefer that you not investigate that mystery."
"I'm not sure that you could tell me why that is, so I have a different question: why are there Progenitor ruins in this universe and the Civilization one."
"I don't really know. Celm has an idea, though."
"He does?"
"Yeah. See, the schematics for the multiversal gate I gave you? Celm said he found it onboard the commander when he first found it. Going off that, he thinks that maybe ROBs like me weren't the first people to send commanders across the multiverse."
"So you're saying the Progenitors might have had their own multiversal adventures?"
"Maybe that, maybe they were multiversal conquerors, maybe they just wanted to see the beauty in all creation. I don't really know which is true, but whatever the reason, they seemed to be willing to spread at least their technology across reality. At least, that's what I've heard."
"So why does your superior want those ruins?"
"Eh, he's interested in them. He's an archeologist of sorts - he likes collecting the ruins of ancient civilizations and studying them. With these guys, though, he practically seems to worship them. Wants to get all of their tech safe and sound so that people don't 'tarnish the legacy of the Progenitors'. Seems to include commanders in that category too, if what I've heard him say about others like you is any indication."
"Wouldn't the fault lie in those who put people in commanders in the first place? And if he has those feeling, then he's being rather hypocritical, considering what you are using me for."
"Eh, he thinks it is a necessary evil - the ruins are easier to find if an active progenitor machine is present - progenitor tech apparently seeks out more of its kind. He might not like me putting you in there, but he seems to think that maybe, putting an individual with a good heart in a Commander might make some of the worst hellholes in existence better places."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"You're welcome."
I merely grinned at that...Then I noticed that, while listening to my ROB, I'd run out of fruit. Melissa realized this a second later, and called for a servant to pick it up.
A few minutes later, a young woman arrived and collected my plate. As she left, though, a ball suddenly flew into her. The plate went into the air while the woman tumbled to the ground. Before either object could hit the ground, though, both were caught by....something. It was paled skinned, scale, wearing armor and.....no way.
"Is that a....locust?" I asked Melissa, not taking my eyes off of the being I presumed was a locust drone helped the female servant back to her feet.
"Swarm, actually. And its a scion, not a locust."
"Scion....oh, right, new enemies from Gears of War 4. How'd you get such a bloodthirsty race to be - "
"A lot of work," responded my ROB, a hint of menace in her voice.
I threw my hands up into the air, apologetically.
"Sorry. Just a little surprised."
"I understand. Just, please, don't insult those who follow me, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good. Now, if you must excuse me, I have to go. I've reopened the portal you came in through, use it to leave."
"Okay. Well, goodbye then."
"Farewell."
With that, Melissa got up and left.
As she did, I noticed something very odd.
No, she didn't have anything weird on her clothes. The oddity was actually in her shadow.
See, her body was, aside form its paleness, completely indistinguishable from a normal human.
But her shadow?
It looked like one from a monster.
......Was that what she really looked like?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
So she wasn't human to begin with? Is Commander Flame recognizing her as a specific monster?
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
I'm going to clarify this right now, but Melissa isn't entirely human. Her family belongs to a species that has interbred with humans many times, so I would say she is a half-human hybrid (quite literally, due to the amount of interbreeding between her parents' families.
What exactly the other half is won't be revealed until the end of the next arc.
134. The Servants of Celempheros
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
The weird shadow my ROB had given off was, well, something that I was definitely surprised by. Additionally, I was also unsure what, exactly, said shadow was - I hadn't seen any creature/being that her shadow could represent, and since I had spent most of my teenage years playing video games and obsessively examining the internet, that was saying something. My current bets were on her for being some sort of eldritch entity, but beyond that, I had nothing.
Whelp, I guess I'll just have to check out my video archive and see if I can find a clear image of her in there.
I quickly pulled up the archive, popped some popcorn, and started up from where I had left off.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The first thing that came into view was a huge jungle. Birds flew around, what appeared to be okapi grazed, and all was calm.
Then Melissa darted into view, looking haggard and covered in plant-life. Birds took flight as she dashed past them, while the okapi quickly headed for cover.
Idly, I wondered Melissa was running, only to almost choke on my popcorn as a huge black something suddenly emerged from the underbrush. A moment later, the video went to static, before a different scene took its place.
The new surroundings consisted of an open clearing, with a strange, hi tech wall on one side, and a forest on the other.
After a moment of calm, Melissa darted out of the forest, followed by her pursuer who, rather humorously, slipped on a log and tumbled into the wall, with Melissa barely managing to avoid being squished by diving onto the ground, then quickly retreating into the jungle. A moment later, the creature managed to right itself and began searching for her.
The change in scenery gave me an opportunity to finally see this creature in its entirety, and that allowed me to figure out what it was.
Black body? Check.
White, bony head? Check.
Only two limbs? Check.
Reptilian appearance? Check.
Clearly, this beastie was a skull crawler.
And it was on the war path.
With its quarry currently hidden, though, the beast had calmed slightly, having gone from aggressive predator to inquisitive one. Slowly, it circled around the clearing, trying to find out where, exactly, my ROB had gone. It slowly flipped over every stone it could find, looked at every nook and cranny in the wall, and even sniffed around the tree, trying to find its prey
Rather humorously, though, it didn't seem to notice that Melissa was on top of one of the trees, slowly climbing toward it. Now that she wasn't running, I noticed she was wielding some kind of staff.
Then, just as the skull crawler started to sniff the air, she struck.
Melissa leapt at the lizard and slammed her staff on its head, dazing the mighty beast. With grace that seemed (and potentially could have been) inhuman, she swiftly grabbed ahold of the beast, took out a knife, and started whaling on the giant beast, which tried, desperately, to shake her off. In obvious pain, it thrashed an howled, occasionally ramming itself into trees and the wall, attempting to crush her or, at the very least, dislodge her from its back. Each attempt was met with profound failure, as my ROB deftly maneuvered herself out of each and every attack's line of fire. Eventually, after she'd inflicted quite a few wounds on the beast, she jumped off of it, brandished her staff once more, and slammed it down on the skull crawler's head, causing the beast to collapse. With her foe now dazed and helpless, she took the opportunity to strike it again and again, ravaging its unarmored underbelly, before finally breaking off.
Not a moment too soon, as the skull crawler soon recovered and attempted to return the favor with a flurry of bites, all of which Melissa dodged with ease.
Then the lizard swung at her with its tail, and my ROB went flying.
She hit the ground hard and started to roll, but managed to right herself before she hit anything else. She took a moment to spit something out of her mouth, apparently just saliva, before taking somethijg from her side - a flare gun - and shooting it into the air. The skull crawled backed up in surprise at the sight, before trying to whale on her again.....
Only to be blasted by both fire and lightning from above.
As the creature struggled to recover, my view shifted upwards, reaching.....Operatives Tau and Zeta?!
And they were smiling?!
As they glided to the ground, Zeta shot a fireball from her hand toward the skull crawler, severely singing it, while throwing something that exploded at Melissa's feet. Whatever it was seemed to revitalize her, as my ROB quickly returned to the fray by shooting a giant icicle at the crawler, goring it in the stomach.
Tau followed that up by slamming into the beast's side with an axe while Zeta pulled out a hammer from somewhere ( hammer space, I guess, haha) and swiftly slammed it into the beast's right arm, shattering it.
Desperate, the skull crawler charged at Melissa, grabbed her staff and hoisted it into the air, sending Melissa upward with it. As she fell, though, she managed to angle herself so that, instead of falling into the creature's gullet, she slammed down into the base of its skull with her staff. A loud crunch filled the air, and the beast went still.
"....show off."
That was Tau.
"Guilty as charged," responded Melissa. "....Thanks for the help."
"No problem. So, what next?"
"Now we clean it. I'll get the intestines....and the crap in them."
"You sure?" Asked Zeta.
"I am, but thanks for the consideration."
"You're welcome.....You okay if I make a cloak out of its skin?"
"Sure. Couldn't have slain it without your help...well, at least not without taking a lot more injuries."
"Well, thanks then. So, what does the boss want us to do next?"
"Not sure yet."
"Well," remarked Tau, "let's focus on cleaning this first before we think about what to do next."
"Fine with me," responded my ROB.
XXXXXXX
....well, that was unexpected.
Also, why, exactly, were those two so friendly with Melissa?
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
Whelp, I guess I'll just have to check out my video archive and see if I can find a clear image of her in there.
I quickly pulled up the archive, popped some popcorn, and started up from where I had left off.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The first thing that came into view was a huge jungle. Birds flew around, what appeared to be okapi grazed, and all was calm.
Then Melissa darted into view, looking haggard and covered in plant-life. Birds took flight as she dashed past them, while the okapi quickly headed for cover.
Idly, I wondered Melissa was running, only to almost choke on my popcorn as a huge black something suddenly emerged from the underbrush. A moment later, the video went to static, before a different scene took its place.
The new surroundings consisted of an open clearing, with a strange, hi tech wall on one side, and a forest on the other.
After a moment of calm, Melissa darted out of the forest, followed by her pursuer who, rather humorously, slipped on a log and tumbled into the wall, with Melissa barely managing to avoid being squished by diving onto the ground, then quickly retreating into the jungle. A moment later, the creature managed to right itself and began searching for her.
The change in scenery gave me an opportunity to finally see this creature in its entirety, and that allowed me to figure out what it was.
Black body? Check.
White, bony head? Check.
Only two limbs? Check.
Reptilian appearance? Check.
Clearly, this beastie was a skull crawler.
And it was on the war path.
With its quarry currently hidden, though, the beast had calmed slightly, having gone from aggressive predator to inquisitive one. Slowly, it circled around the clearing, trying to find out where, exactly, my ROB had gone. It slowly flipped over every stone it could find, looked at every nook and cranny in the wall, and even sniffed around the tree, trying to find its prey
Rather humorously, though, it didn't seem to notice that Melissa was on top of one of the trees, slowly climbing toward it. Now that she wasn't running, I noticed she was wielding some kind of staff.
Then, just as the skull crawler started to sniff the air, she struck.
Melissa leapt at the lizard and slammed her staff on its head, dazing the mighty beast. With grace that seemed (and potentially could have been) inhuman, she swiftly grabbed ahold of the beast, took out a knife, and started whaling on the giant beast, which tried, desperately, to shake her off. In obvious pain, it thrashed an howled, occasionally ramming itself into trees and the wall, attempting to crush her or, at the very least, dislodge her from its back. Each attempt was met with profound failure, as my ROB deftly maneuvered herself out of each and every attack's line of fire. Eventually, after she'd inflicted quite a few wounds on the beast, she jumped off of it, brandished her staff once more, and slammed it down on the skull crawler's head, causing the beast to collapse. With her foe now dazed and helpless, she took the opportunity to strike it again and again, ravaging its unarmored underbelly, before finally breaking off.
Not a moment too soon, as the skull crawler soon recovered and attempted to return the favor with a flurry of bites, all of which Melissa dodged with ease.
Then the lizard swung at her with its tail, and my ROB went flying.
She hit the ground hard and started to roll, but managed to right herself before she hit anything else. She took a moment to spit something out of her mouth, apparently just saliva, before taking somethijg from her side - a flare gun - and shooting it into the air. The skull crawled backed up in surprise at the sight, before trying to whale on her again.....
Only to be blasted by both fire and lightning from above.
As the creature struggled to recover, my view shifted upwards, reaching.....Operatives Tau and Zeta?!
And they were smiling?!
As they glided to the ground, Zeta shot a fireball from her hand toward the skull crawler, severely singing it, while throwing something that exploded at Melissa's feet. Whatever it was seemed to revitalize her, as my ROB quickly returned to the fray by shooting a giant icicle at the crawler, goring it in the stomach.
Tau followed that up by slamming into the beast's side with an axe while Zeta pulled out a hammer from somewhere ( hammer space, I guess, haha) and swiftly slammed it into the beast's right arm, shattering it.
Desperate, the skull crawler charged at Melissa, grabbed her staff and hoisted it into the air, sending Melissa upward with it. As she fell, though, she managed to angle herself so that, instead of falling into the creature's gullet, she slammed down into the base of its skull with her staff. A loud crunch filled the air, and the beast went still.
"....show off."
That was Tau.
"Guilty as charged," responded Melissa. "....Thanks for the help."
"No problem. So, what next?"
"Now we clean it. I'll get the intestines....and the crap in them."
"You sure?" Asked Zeta.
"I am, but thanks for the consideration."
"You're welcome.....You okay if I make a cloak out of its skin?"
"Sure. Couldn't have slain it without your help...well, at least not without taking a lot more injuries."
"Well, thanks then. So, what does the boss want us to do next?"
"Not sure yet."
"Well," remarked Tau, "let's focus on cleaning this first before we think about what to do next."
"Fine with me," responded my ROB.
XXXXXXX
....well, that was unexpected.
Also, why, exactly, were those two so friendly with Melissa?
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
Last edited:
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
Okay. Good chapter, no new questions besides the one Commander Flame is asking, but for the audience, is Melissa a creature we would recognize or is she something you made up?
- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
Her species is a background race in one of the universes Flame has visited/will visit. Telling anymore would be spoilers.
She's also part human, okay?